Emma Raducanu claims the biggest scalp of her career as she dumps world No 5 Jessica Pegula out of Eastbourne to seal her first EVER victory over a top 10 player

Emma Raducanu took the biggest scalp of her career as she defeated world number 5 Jessica Pegula to advance to the quarter-finals in Eastbourne.

“My own pace,” she wrote on camera after her previous match – but at this pace it’s hard to keep up with her.

The 21-year-old had never beaten anyone in the top 10, and only one in the top 20 since her 2021 US Open title.

‘The new me’, as Raducanu described himself on Monday, turns out to be a decent tennis player.

In addition to the previous great victories of Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart, Great Britain has three women in the last eight for the first time since 1978.

The 21-year-old had never beaten anyone in the top 10, and only one in the top 20 since winning the 2021 US Open.

“It shows how hard we work,” Raducanu said. “And disproved a few beliefs about us – it shows we’re doing quite well.”

Speaking about her own competition, she said: ‘I’m feeling quite exhausted at the moment. I managed to navigate some difficult situations. I would say this match was one of the most meaningful for me.”

Pegula, 30, was the runner-up here, having just won the grass court title in Berlin. So her form was red hot, but there was always a chance that if Raducanu could force her deep into the match, some fatigue would set in.

And so it happened, when Raducanu saved a match point in the tiebreak of the second set.

Pegula has a beautiful game on grass with her flat groundstrokes and strong serve. Raducanu was completely overpowered when she was 4-1 down.

She bounced off the ropes and came out swinging, attacking her opponent’s second serve and attacking the net more often. It was a wise move to break Pegula’s rhythm, but it was also a glimpse of how Raducanu’s game could develop in the future, at least on this surface.

She also started mixing things up with slice backhands, but that shot seems like a work in progress, especially compared to her reliable double-hander.

But after working so hard to build back to 4-4, 30-15 on his own serve, Raducanu hit consecutive double faults and you don’t give those kinds of gifts to a player of Pegula’s class.

Pegula, 30, was the runner-up in Eastbourne having just won the grass court title in Berlin. Her form was glowing red

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Pegula breaking early and Raducanu holding her back.

Tiebreak. Raducanu hit a forehand to save match point and then Pegula scored a backhand to lose the set.

Raducanu was excellent in the deciding set, saving a break point in the first game and blossoming from there. She realized that the weakest ball Pegula would give her was often the second serve, so she pushed hard on the return.

She has to work harder for her strength than the easy Pegula, but she threw herself into her forehand and made it sing.

One combination on back-to-back points of a backhand lob winner followed by a line painter down the line was as good as it gets.

With a point for a second service break, she beautifully executed a backhand drop shot. That gave her a 5-2 cushion, but it quickly became 5-4.

There were a few nerves and seagulls fluttering across the court as she stepped forward to serve for the match for the second time. And after two class points from Pegula, Raducanu made a double fault and put a forehand long.

Raducanu came through in three sets, defeated the American and became one of three British women in the last eight

That was three games lost in a row, but you don’t win the US Open without having a little ticker and Raducanu responded in the next game. A drop-shot-pass combination gave Raducanu two break points at 5-5 and she grabbed the second with a forehand volley.

She had to save four break points, but eventually she served out questions on the third try.