Emma Raducanu scored her first career victory over a Top 10 player in dramatic fashion on Wednesday at the Rothesay International, as the 2021 US Open champion saved a match point en route to upsetting No.2 seed and World No.5 Jessica Pegula in the second round. 

Raducanu had never previously won a set in seven career matches against Top 10 opponents, but crossed that off her list when she won the second set of her eventual 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 upset of the Berlin champion -- who had saved five match points of her own against Anna Kalinskaya to lift that trophy in her last outing on court. 

Despite seeing a 5-2 lead evaporate in the final set, at one stage losing 13 of 16 points, Raducanu ultimately scored her milestone victory in 2 hours and 44 minutes, as she clawed out from a 0-40 deficit and saved four break points in total to serve the match out in her third opportunity to do so.

Raducanu match stats

WTA

"I'm pretty drained right now," Raducanu said in her on-court interview, crediting the home crowd for pulling her through difficult moments. She previously trailed 6-4, 3-1 in the match.

"It's incredibly difficult when you're playing someone who's so in-form like Jessica," she continued. "She came off the back of a great run in Berlin, and no doubt she's feeling confident on the grass, but I'm really pleased with how I managed to navigate some really tough situations, and to be honest, I didn't think I'd be able to get myself out of it.

"I would say this match is one of the more meaningful ones to me. ... To come through, it's been really nice."

The moment things turned: The Brit, who failed to covert a set point in the 10th game of the second set, won five straight points to turn a 3-0 tiebreak deficit into a 5-3 lead. But after Pegula streaked to the next three points, Raducanu denied the American a lone chance to win her fifth straight match with a strong first serve and a follow-up first-ball forehand winner. Two missed backhands by Pegula -- one long, and one in the net -- sent the match to a third set. 

A national milestone: Raducanu's victory, in her tournament debut, puts her through to the quarterfinals along with compatriots Harriet Dart and Katie Boulter, who scored wins over lucky loser Sofia Kenin and No.5 seed Jelena Ostapenko, respectively, on Wednesday to book their spots in the quarterfinals. It's the first time in more than 40 years that three British women are into the quarterfinals in Eastbourne, which has not seen a British champion since 1975.

"It's really good, healthy competition. We all see each other progressing into the next round and we all just want to join them. No one wants to be left behind," Raducanu said. "That's the way that it should be: We should be pushing each other, and I think that's definitely the case right now.

"We all come alive on this surface ... it's just a testament to how well we've been training and how hard we've been putting work in."

For a spot in her second semifinal in as many tournaments played in the grass-court season, Raducanu will next face No.6 seed Daria Kasatkina. Kasatkina won their only previous meeting -- 7-5, 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Ostrava two years ago.