British hopes for the Wimbledon women's singles event ought to have raised exponentially on Wednesday, as three home favourites reached the Eastbourne International quarter-finals with statement wins over some revered names.
All of Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart will be present in the last eight - the former two are on course to meet in the semi-finals too - thanks to shock successes over high seeds and former Grand Slam champions, making the 2024 edition the first time in over 40 years that GB have three women's quarter-finalists at Eastbourne.
Raducanu - who entered the tournament as a wild card and earned the same path into the main draw of Wimbledon - hit new heights in the sweltering heat, earning her first-ever top-10 win over second seed Jessica Pegula.
The 2021 US Open champion completed a terrific turnaround from a set and a break down to prevail 4-6 7-6[6] 7-5 against the second seed, who travelled to the UK riding high from winning the WTA 500 event in Berlin.
Raducanu's powers of recovery were evident in the first set - where she fought back from 4-1 down to level the opener at 4-4 - although that fightback proved futile as Pegula established the advantage before moving a set and a break up.
© Reuters
Boulter, Dart sink former major winners
However, Raducanu broke back to 3-3, and despite missing one set point and suffering an early mini-break in the tie-breaker, she held her nerve marvellously to take the contest to the distance.
Many a twist and turn was still to be had, as Raducanu moved 5-2 up but was broken twice while serving for the match, but Pegula lost serve in the 11th game and squandered a 40-0 lead on Raducanu's serve in the 12th before the 21-year-old completed an outstanding victory.
Prior to Raducanu's success, British number one and two-time Nottingham Open champion Boulter bested former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 7-5 in a big-serving battle, where there were 21 aces fired between them.
While Ostapenko registered 10, though, the fifth seed was made to pay for a succession of errors with a staggering nine double faults - including one abysmal attempt where her second serve landed in the wrong service box - as Boulter brought up 18 break points over the course of the match.
The 27-year-old's reward will be a last-eight battle with 2024 Roland-Garros runner-up Jasmine Paolini, while compatriot Dart posted one of her most impressive wins in recent memory against 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin.
![Harriet Dart reacts at the Eastbourne International on June 26, 2024 [IMAGO]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/26/harriet-dart.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Harriet Dart reacts at the Eastbourne International on June 26, 2024 [IMAGO]")
© Imago
Following up her brilliant success over Marie Bouzkova, Dart was due to face Elena Rybakina before the 2022 Wimbledon champion withdrew from the competition, thereby pitting Dart against lucky loser Kenin.
While the first two sets were relatively tightly-fought, the world number 105 recorded the unlikeliest of bagels in the third set for a 6-3 6-67[3] 6-0 victory, where she excelled on both serve and return.
Posting eight aces and taking nine of the 12 break points she fashioned, Dart now prepares to pit her wits against Leylah Fernandez, who finished as runner-up to Raducanu at the 2021 US Open.
Billy Harris still alive in men's draw
Raducanu, Boulter and Dart are three of four Brits set to battle for semi-final spots in Eastbourne, as Billy Harris advanced to the quarters of the men's event by beating compatriot Charles Broom 3-6 6-2 6-2.
The 29-year-old had never reached an ATP quarter-final before this year but has now progressed to two on the bounce after his impressive run at Queen's, and his next opponent will be Italy's Flavio Cobolli.
Ben Knapton
