Raducanu saves match point against Pegula in Eastbourne, Keys advances

Emma Raducanu claimed her maiden victory over a top-10 player in dramatic fashion at the Eastbourne International on Wednesday. She saved a match point en route to upsetting second seed Jessica Pegula, while defending champion Madison Keys comfortably advanced to the quarter-finals.

The former US Open champion Raducanu won a tight tie-break to level against Pegula, eventually triumphing 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 despite facing a significant challenge in the deciding set. Raducanu, who had expressed a renewed passion for tennis following injury struggles since her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows in 2021, skipped the French Open and the Paris Olympics but holds a wildcard for Wimbledon starting next week.

The 21-year-old, ranked 168th globally after missing last year’s grass-court season due to surgery, showed resilience by recovering from a 5-2 lead in the third set that Pegula managed to equalize. Raducanu then broke her opponent’s serve to reclaim the lead and survived multiple break points to secure the victory.

Reflecting on her win, Raducanu acknowledged Pegula’s excellent form and expressed satisfaction with navigating through tough moments during the match. She described the victory as particularly meaningful, given the challenges she faced on court.

In other matches, fourth seed Madison Keys overcame Ukrainian qualifier Anhelina Kalinina 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 after saving two set points in the first set, setting up a quarter-final clash with Karolina Muchova. Meanwhile, Britain’s Katie Boulter continued her strong grass-court form by defeating former champion Jelena Ostapenko and will face third seed Jasmine Paolini in the next round.

In the men’s event, Aleksandar Vukic defeated third seed Alexander Bublik, while Miomir Kecmanovic ousted fourth seed Sebastian Baez in straight sets.