Emma Raducanu's reward for reaching her maiden WTA 1000 quarter-final at the Miami Open is a match against world No. 4 Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.
The Briton has defeated American players in three consecutive rounds and aims for a fourth victory to oust the fourth seed, achieving as many wins in a row for only the second time in her career.
Match preview
© Iconsport
Raducanu appears to be finding her form in Florida, having triumphed over three-set specialist Emma Navarro in the second round before following that up by losing only five games across her next two matches against McCartney Kessler and Amanda Anisimova.
Although the world No. 60 benefitted from Kessler's withdrawal due to a back injury on Sunday, Raducanu's ability to make Anisimova play an extra shot, combined with the American's propensity for errors, meant that the 2021 US Open champion had the advantage should the Doha champion falter.
The outcome of defeating Anisimova in just 68 minutes signifies that Raducanu has secured four consecutive wins for only the second time, the first being her successful run to the US Open title four years ago.
Having already matched Johanna Konta as the first British player to reach a quarter-final at a WTA 1000 tournament, Raducanu now seeks her second top-10 victory in Miami and her fourth overall to progress to the tournament's semi-final.
The prospect of such an achievement seemed unlikely before the 22-year-old's tournament opener against Sayaka Ishii a week ago, when she entered Florida with merely one win in seven matches.
Now, the former world No. 10 is just one win away from advancing to the event's final four.
© Imago
On the opposite side of the court is Pegula, who hopes to avoid becoming the fourth home player to succumb to the British star's relentless pursuit of every ball.
If the 31-year-old progresses to the semis in Florida, she will recall her third-round comeback victory over Anna Kalinskaya, in which she secured a 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(2) result over two hours and 16 minutes.
Another deciding set seemed likely on Monday when the fourth seed found herself 3-0 down in the second against Marta Kostyuk; however, the American rallied to win the next six games, ultimately securing a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the Ukrainian player.
Now into her fourth consecutive semi-final at this Florida-based event, having reached the semis in 2022 and 2023, Pegula hopes to avoid a repeat of last year's disappointment, where she fell to Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The American No. 2 and recent champion in Austin, now with a season record of 18-5, aims for her third last-four appearance by defeating Raducanu and earning another chance to vie for the WTA 1000 tournament's championship match after losses to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 semi-final and Elena Rybakina a year later.
Tournament so far
Emma Raducanu:
First round: vs. Sayaka Ishii 6-2 6-1
Second round: vs. Emma Navarro 7-6[6] 2-6 7-6[3]
Third round: vs. McCartney Kessler 6-1 3-0 ret
Round of 16: vs. Amanda Anisimova 6-1 6-3
Jessica Pegula:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Bernarda Pera [USA] 6-4 6-4
Third round: vs. Anna Kalinskaya 6-7[3] 6-2 7-6[2]
Round of 16: vs. Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-3
Head To Head
Eastbourne (2024) - Round of 16: Raducanu 4-6 7-6(6) 7-5
Cincinnati (2022) - Round of 16: Pegula 7-5 6-4
Raducanu and Pegula have each secured one victory as they head into their third match-up on the women's tour, with Wednesday's winner taking a 2-1 lead.
Notably, the British player emerged victorious on home turf last year on the grass courts of Eastbourne, marking her first triumph over a top-10 opponent after seven consecutive defeats to elite players.
However, Pegula's win over the Brit occurred on American soil in Cincinnati three years ago, and the fourth seed aims to claim another victory in Miami.
We say: Pegula to win in two sets
Raducanu is on a roll in Florida, and the omens appear promising for the resurgent Brit, whose tenacity has allowed her to outlast Navarro and provoke another error-prone performance from Anisimova.
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old's commendable run is expected to conclude against the world No. 4, who has tallied six straight wins over players ranked outside the top 50 (24-4 in the past 52 weeks).
