Raducanu feeling good for Wimbledon despite Eastbourne exit

Having earned a first-ever win over a top 10 player when she dispatched Jessica Pegula in the second round, Raducanu struggled to adapt to the windy conditions in a 6-2 6-2 defeat to No.6 seed Daria Kasatkina.

But while she was knocked out of the Rothesay International, Raducanu believes that she is peak physical shape ahead of a return to SW19, a year after missing the competition to undergo wrist surgery.

Raducanu has been handed a wild card for the tournament and is confident that she can put in a good showing.

Hewett and Bartram ready for Eastbourne showdown.

She said: “I’m pleased to have had three matches, I think it builds towards my match fitness, my bank of experience playing in all sorts of conditions. Today especially, it was very difficult and I just didn’t handle it very well. I think I need to learn to be more willing to adapt.

“I put some good level out again and to be able to back up a week like Nottingham, obviously I’m very happy with. The biggest win for me is that I was able to play three matches back-to-back, physically I felt fine. It wasn’t to do with anything being in pain.

“Three high-level matches and yesterday was close to three hours, plus the warm-up before, I played almost four hours on court. This morning I pulled up completely fine, I was surprised about that. That has to be a huge win and it’s a big positive.

“I wasn’t tired at all, I was feeling really good, I think I just dealt with the circumstances badly and was very inflexible in my approach.”

Raducanu was one of three British women in the quarter-finals, with all three unable to progress to the last four.

Current British No.1 Katie Boulter fell to French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini 6-1 7-6 (0), while Harriet Dart lost 6-2 6-1 to Leylah Fernandez, who reached the final at Flushing Meadows three years ago before losing in the final to Raducanu.

For Boulter, who has been in scintillating form on the grass, including retaining her title in Nottingham, it was a setback, but the 27-year-old is confident that she is still playing some of the best tennis of her career.

Looking ahead to Wimbledon, she said: “I can't tell the future. I don't know what's going to happen next week but one thing I do know is that this is the best tennis I have been playing for a very long time, I think ever actually in my career.

“I’ve been building this for a very long time in terms of the way that I’ve been playing more consistently and my strength and the power that I'm bringing each time I step on the court.”

British interest in Eastbourne might be over in the women’s singles, but Billy Harris continued his stunning grass-court form by booking his place in the semi-finals of an ATP Tour event for the first time.

The 29-year-old came from a set down to beat Flavio Cobolli 6-7 (3) 7-6 (4) 6-2 to make the last four, and he will make his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in the form of his life.

Harris has had to make it to this level the hard way, travelling around tournaments in a camper van to save costs. But ahead of a semi-final against Max Purcell, Harris is still getting his head around just how his career is taking off.

He said: “It feels amazing, it hasn’t really sunk in yet, I was just focusing on one point at a time and luckily I managed to turn my game around in the third set. I felt a lot more comfortable going for my shots a bit more so I’m very pleased. I’ll take very win I can at this level.

“I’m getting slightly better learning each week, hopefully I can continue at the end of this week and at Wimbledon as well. It’s nice having family around, my dad has been travelling with me a lot, there’s a great team at the LTA, fitness coaches and everyone, it’s a good team effort.”

Where Raducanu struggled in the windy conditions, Harris felt that it was a secret weapon in his comeback victory. He added: “We used to play a lot in the wind so it’s frustrating for everyone but coming from the Isle of Man definitely helped me.

“I haven’t got a secret but I’ve had three great weeks in a row and I just want to continue as much as I can, I’m loving it out here. “I’ll just rest up, recover and watch some more matches.”

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website