Emma Raducanu seals straight-sets win over Sloane Stephens in Eastbourne debut to set up Jessica Pegula clash
By Rhys Jones
Updated 25/06/2024 at 16:28 GMT+1
Emma Raducanu swept American Sloane Stephens in straight sets 6-3 6-0 at the Rothesay Eastbourne International on Tuesday, setting up a Round of 16 clash with Berlin Open winner Jessica Pegula. It took Raducanu some time to adapt to the Eastbourne court, but in the late stages of the first set, she took control and never looked back, finding her rhythm and winning the second set flawlessly.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Emma Raducanu beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets 6-3 6-0 at the Rothesay Eastbourne International on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Briton, who said she has “rekindled the love for tennis” ahead of Wimbledon, was in fine form as she swept the American away in her Eastbourne debut.
The first set began as a back-and-forth affair, with Stephens cutting a calm figure on the court and neither fully taking control in the opening games.
Before the fifth game, the tie was tight and balanced on a knife edge, but Raducanu started to pull away as she began to anticipate Stephens’ serve and get the better of her.
Raducanu admitted post-match that the first set was her adapting to the court and the problems that Stephen threw her way.Â
“I think for me it was a case of, in a way, adapting to the court,” she said.
“I’ve never played in Eastbourne, I’ve never played on this centre court and every court plays a little bit differently. I think that in the beginning, I was just trying to figure out which is the best way for me to play and use my game.Â
“I think it was a very close first set and I was down quite a bit all the way and managed to break, but it’s very difficult because Sloane is super athletic. In the first set especially she was making a lot of balls and counter-punching really well.”
The second set was a display of sheer dominance by Raducanu as her forehand consistently proved too much for Stephens. She raced to the opening three games before a fine backhand took the fourth.
Clearly, once she had adapted and found her groove, she was no match for the fellow former US Open champion. She picked up the next two sets in quick succession and finished her Eastbourne debut in a stellar style in front of a jubilant crowd.
“Thank you to everyone who came out and was supporting, I could really hear you guys and feel it," she added.
"It’s a lot bigger court than the centre court in Nottingham, so it’s really nice to see so many people out here battling the heat.
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Raducanu will play second seed Jessica Pegula on Wednesday. Pegula recently captured her first grass-court title in Berlin this month.
The Brit is confident after besting Stephens, she has a new level of comfortability on the courts in Eastbourne.
"I think I managed to figure out a little bit on how to play on these courts, you know the balls get pretty heavy here so it’s a case of just keep trying to hit through, keep the ball speed up and just about recovering physically and getting ready to go tomorrow."
BRITish no 1 into THE next round as well
Joining Raducanu in the last-16 is Katie Boulter, fresh from winning the title in Nottingham earlier this month.
The British No 1 was drawn against lucky loser Petra Martic, to whom she had lost in straight sets at the same stage last year.
However, a repeat result never truly looked on the cards, as the home favourite breezed through to a 6-1 lead within just 27 minutes, winning 100% of points behind her first serve.
The second set was somewhat tighter, with Boulter not helped by four double faults.
Both players ultimately dropped serve on two occasions, and a tie break was required to separate them.
Martic took the upper hand in that as she raced into a 5-1 lead and looked certain to take the match into a decider.
However, Boulter was in no mood for any extra time on court, and she duly saved three set points before serving it out at 10-8.
"That was a little stressful and a little bit more dramatic than I hoped it would be," she said in her on court interview.
"I played a tie break a couple of weeks ago which I didn't come on the winning end of, and it was super tight. I had that in the back of my head when I was playing that one there.
"I'm just very happy to be through that.
"I know Petra very well. I lost to her on these courts last year, so for me to come back here and play her again, it's a little bit of déjà vu, but this time I got on the winning end, so I'm happy.
"I've got nothing to lose this week. It's a fantastic week to come out here and play in front of you guys [the crowd] and get some more practice on the grass courts, because we always need it."
Boulter, who will be seeded at Wimbledon, will now face 2021 Eastbourne champion Jelena Ostapenko for a place in the quarter-finals.
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