Emma Raducanu defeats Jessica Pegula at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne

The tennis gods showed fans how the tide can turn in this sport. Jessica Pegula, fresh off of her maiden grass-court title in Berlin where she was forced to fight off five championship points against her serve, took on Emma Raducanu at the Rothesay International at Eastbourne. While Pegula had a first-round bye, Raducanu had a confidence-boosting first-round win over Sloane Stephens in straight sets.

Raducanu started the match slow, perhaps with nerves, and was down 1-4 before she worked her way back into the first set, leveling it at 4-4. Errors crept into her game so Pegula was able to pull ahead and grab the set 6-4.

The second set followed a similar pattern, Raducanu started slow and played from behind. She went on a streak of winning points in the middle of the set. The longer the match went on, the more it felt like Raducanu was gaining traction and positioning herself for an upset. Pegula served for the match in the second set but could not convert so a third set was in order.

Emma Raducanu was up and down in the third set but held it together to get the win

Raducanu fought through despite being inconsistent and not playing her best tennis. She held her serve when Pegula had four break points while leading 6-5 and ultimately won the third set 7-5. The final score was 4-6, 7-6, and 7-5. This marks the first Top 10 win for Raducanu in her career.

The home crowd fans were cheering her on. She is the only active British woman who has won a Grand Slam title. Even though some would argue that the 2021 US Open championship that she won was too much too soon in her young career and there have been many injuries and growing pains along the way, fans want her to succeed.

Raducanu will face the winner of the Daria Kasatkina and Yue Yan Round of 16 match in the quarterfinals on Thursday at a time to be determined.

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