Emma Raducanu's run at the 2024 Eastbourne International is not over, even though she faced a match point against an in-form Jessica Pegula, who recently won a trophy.
The last time these two players met on a tennis court, it was Pegula who won, and this time around, it was the Brit's turn to win. The American has been in amazing form, recently winning the Berlin Open, and generally has looked good on the grass for a while.
Raducanu, of course, played at a high level on the grass courts in Nottingham and also in her first match in Eastbourne. She recently spoke positively about her tennis, admitting that she found the fire again, and it's certainly showing in her game.
This match was fascinating, as the American started furiously, taking a 4-1 lead in the opening set. Raducanu battled back to make it 4-4, but Pegula once again stepped up when it mattered the most to win the opening set 6-4.
Winning that opening set was a huge momentum-shifting moment because the 2021 US Open winner was just about settling into her tennis, but her opponent stole all of it by winning the set.
That confidence remained in the second set as Pegula jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as well, but Raducanu wasn't going to give up that easily. She tried and tried and eventually got the break back, even fighting her way to a set point.
Pegula didn't give it that easily, so the set ended in a tie-break, which was a good demonstration of both player's levels. Pegula opened it well, taking an early 3-0 lead.
Despite that, Raducanu was able to fight her way to a set point and ultimately won 8-6, despite facing a match point at 5-6. It was an amazing comeback as she saved a match point in that set.
In the final set, Raducanu played her signature style, which caused Pegula many issues. An early break only boosted the Brit's confidence, and she was able to finish off the comeback against a bit tired Pegula despite losing her one-break lead, winning the match 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5.
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