Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon hopes were dented significantly after falling in the second round of her final warm-up event on Wednesday.
World No 38 Raducanu was toppled 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) by teen star Maya Joint at the Eastbourne Open, the Australian prevailing in two hours and 33 minutes
Raducanu battled back to beat Ann Li in her opening-round match on Tuesday, though concerns were high about the 22-year-old’s physical state, with her ongoing back spasm issue appearing to trouble her.
She was also visibly emotional on-court in the immediate aftermath of her win, and revealed afterwards in her press conference she had received some unspecified “bad news” before taking to court.
Despite that, the seventh seed was a hesitant favourite heading into her clash versus Joint, whom she beat at the Italian Open in May, though the Australian had beaten two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in round one in Eastbourne.
The pair twice traded breaks in a competitive opening set, before Raducanu sealed a crucial third break in the ninth game, ultimately holding with relative comfort to close out the opener.
Things appeared to be heading south after that for the 22-year-old, who was swatted aside in the second set and found herself 5-2, double break down in the decider.
Raducanu fought back and broke Joint twice as the Australian tried to serve out the match, and broke again at 6-5 when her opponent was attempting to serve it out for a third time.
But, ultimately, Joint was able to reach the first grass-court quarter-final of her career, holding her nerve in a tense tiebreak – and gain revenge from Rome.
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“Today was really tough. There were a lot of up and downs, a lot of momentum switches, but I’m really glad I was able to tough it out in the end,” said Joint.
“I definitely remember that match [in Rome], it was a fun match to play, so I was looking forward to today.
“It was a bit different because today’s on grass. We both had to change our game’s a little bit. I’m really glad I was able to win this one.”
Defeat means that Raducanu has contested five grass-court matches heading into Wimbledon, not an insignificant amount heading into the third Grand Slam event of the year.
However, the manner in which she fell to defeat in Eastbourne, coupled with ongoing physical struggles, may be a cause for concern for some.
Raducanu will return to court in the opening round of Wimbledon, with the Brit set to be in action on Monday or Tuesday.
Ranked 38th in the world, the 22-year-old has missed out on a seeding in the draw, meaning her fate is in the hands of the draw gods in terms of who she faces in round one.
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