Emma Raducanu has stated she needs to improve her focus (“get her head in the game”) before Wimbledon, following her early exit from the Eastbourne Open.
She nearly completed a remarkable comeback against Maya Joint in their second-round match but ultimately lost in a deciding set tiebreak.
The 22-year-old had mentioned receiving “pretty bad news” after her first-round victory on Tuesday, which seemed to impact her performance and demeanor during the match against Joint.
With the start of her home Grand Slam event approaching, Raducanu emphasized the need to concentrate.
“Unfortunately, I couldn`t win today, but I can get some rest before next week,” she told reporters. She added, “I feel quite tired. I`m just dealing with some things and need to make sure I`m mentally ready for next week.”
“Realistically, Wimbledon starts very soon, just four days away,” she noted. “I plan to take tomorrow (Thursday) off and hopefully be back on court Friday,” she said regarding her preparation.
Raducanu, Britain`s top-ranked player, appeared on the verge of defeat against the Australian, falling behind 5-2 in the third set. However, she staged an impressive comeback, breaking Joint`s serve three times when Joint was serving for the match, forcing a tiebreak.
Victory seemed possible when she took a 4-3 lead in the tiebreak, but Joint won the next four points consecutively to secure a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 win and advance to the quarter-finals.
Joint commented on the match: “Today was really tough, there were many ups and downs, I`m happy I managed to stay strong at the end.” She added, “I am really pleased I could win this match.”
In other British player news, Jodie Burrage also narrowly missed winning her match against former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, failing to convert match points.
This followed Harriet Dart`s similar loss the previous day. Burrage, ranked British No 7, held a 0-40 lead on Krejcikova`s serve at 6-5 in the final set but couldn`t close it out, with Krejcikova winning the subsequent tiebreak.
In the men`s Eastbourne draw, Dan Evans continued his recent good form with a notable win over world No 13 Tommy Paul.
The 35-year-old is working to climb back up the rankings after a drop, and such victories are beneficial.
Evans defeated the second seed with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, setting up a quarter-final match against American Jenson Brooksby.
Lucky loser Billy Harris also progressed, winning 6-3, 6-4 against Mattia Bellucci. However, British No 2 Jacob Fearnley was eliminated, losing 6-3, 6-1 to Marcos Giron.
