Emma Raducanu admitted she wasn’t 100 per cent focused during her brave defeat to Maya Joint at the Eastbourne Open after receiving “some pretty bad news” ahead of Wimbledon
Emma Raducanu admits she needs to “get my head in the game” for Wimbledon after crashing out of the Eastbourne Open. Raducanu almost pulled off an incredible comeback in her second-round match against Maya Joint before losing on a final-set tiebreak.
The 22-year-old revealed on Tuesday, after her opening round win over Ann Li, that she had received “some pretty bad news”. That appeared to affect her against Joint as she looked subdued on court.
With her home grand slam around the corner, Raducanu says she needs to focus. She told the BBC: “Unfortunately I couldn’t get over the line today but I can get some rest ahead of next week.
“I feel quite tired. Just going through some stuff and I need to do my best to get my head in the game ahead of next week.
“Realistically, the turnaround is pretty soon – it’s only four days away really that Wimbledon starts. I think I’m just going to start with [a day off] tomorrow and then hopefully I can get on the court on Friday.”
The British No.1 looked dead and buried against the Australian when trailed 5-2 in the deciding set. But she produced an inspired spell, breaking Joint three times when she was serving for the match to set up a tie-break.
Victory was in sight when she got a mini-break to lead 4-3 but Joint reeled off four successive points to claim a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (4) victory and move into the quarter-finals. Joint said: “Today was really tough, there was a lot of ups and downs, I was happy I was able to tough it out at the end. I am really glad I was able to win this match.”
Meanwhile, Jodie Burrage let victory slip away against former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. With the deciding set poised at 6-5, Burrage found herself 0-40 up on the Czech player’s serve but was unable to clinch the win, ultimately losing the tie-break.
In the men’s tournament, Dan Evans maintained his recent resurgence with a remarkable victory over world No.13 Tommy Paul. The 35-year-old is striving to reclaim his position at the top of the sport after a decline in the rankings.
Performances like this will undoubtedly aid his cause. He secured a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over the second seed, earning a quarter-final match-up against American Jenson Brooksby.
Meanwhile, lucky loser Billy Harris capitalised on his second chance, defeating Mattia Bellucci 6-3 6-4. However, Jacob Fearnley, Britain’s second-ranked player, was eliminated after a 6-3 6-1 loss to Marcos Giron.
Eastbourne is the final tournament before Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, June 30.
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