Emma Raducanu’s encouraging run at the Miami Open came to a difficult end in the quarter-finals on Wednesday night as she went toe-to-toe with Jessica Pegula for two and a half hours before eventually being outlasted by one of the best players in the world. After three bruising, classy sets under the lights, the fourth seed sustained her excellent level in the decisive final stages as she closed out a 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory.
Pegula will next face Alexandra Eala, who pulled off one of the great upsets in recent years earlier on Wednesday by toppling Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5. Eala, a 19 year-old ranked No 140 and the first Filipino player to reach the highest levels of the WTA tour, had already defeated Madison Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
The defeat wraps up a promising tournament for Raducanu, who has arguably played the best tennis of her career this week outside of her US Open triumph. She had arrived in Miami with her confidence low after a rough run of form. The uncertainty surrounding Raducanu was seemingly compounded by her decision to end her trial period with the Slovak coach Vladimir Platenik on the eve of her first-round match.
Despite those difficulties, Raducanu has clearly made significant strides and appears to better understand how to unlock her top level. Across her four match wins, which included a tough first hard-court top-10 win, against Emma Navarro, she has played with freedom and confidence. The next step now is learning how to call upon this high level week after week regardless of the conditions and circumstances.
Over the past few years, Pegula has established as herself one of the most reliable top-10 players and the opening set was a demonstration of the clean shotmaking and timing that has underpinned her success. The 31-year-old struck the ball with total ease and authority, her confidence illustrated by her ultra-aggressive approach and how effortlessly she changed direction with her groundstrokes. Her laser-like down-the-line forehand dictated most of the decisive points in the opening set.
In lieu of a permanent coach, Raducanu was once again accompanied in her player box by familiar faces in Jane O’Donoghue, a former player and family friend she has known since her childhood. Coach-turned-broadcaster Mark Petchey, who had travelled to Miami for his commentator work, has also played an instrumental role in Raducanu’s resurgent performances. The pair again alternated both technical advice and positive reinforcement across the match.
Throughout this week, Raducanu has found success by mixing up her game, using her backhand slice and keeping opponents off-balance by mixing up the pace and trajectory of her strokes. But Pegula’s level in the opening set made it clear that this was a gunfight. At the urging of her team, Raducanu opened the second set determined to play more offensively and fight Pegula’s firepower with her own. Raducanu increased her ball speed, changed directions more frequently and began to strike the ball brilliantly with her own forehand down the line flourishing as she gradually wrested control of the baseline.
With the momentum fully behind her, a third set seemed a certainty as Raducanu generated four set points on Pegula’s serve at 5-2. But at the same time that Pegula showed her resilience, saving them all, Raducanu was struggling physically. She requested the doctor even though she was leading and took a medical timeout after losing her serve for 5-4. Just as it seemed as if Raducanu was fading, she found a second wind and played a brilliant tie-break to force a final set.
“She started moving the ball really well, serving good,” said Pegula. “Sometimes it just happens. I wanted to come out in the third really strong, really quick and kind of jump on her. Didn’t want to keep that third set too close.”
While this occasion marked Raducanu’s first career WTA 1000 quarter-final, Pegula has played 19 of them, winning three such titles. She has been in these positions countless times in recent years and, with all of that experience at her disposal, she perfectly executed her plan. At the same time Raducanu’s level predictably dipped after such an intense set, Pegula quickly rebuilt her momentum, re-established her dominance of the baseline and slammed the door shut.
