Raducanu eases past Stephens to reach Eastbourne second round

Britain's Raducanu recovered from being broken twice in the first set before demolishing her opponent in the second set to set up a second-round match against world number five Jessica Pegula.

Raducanu, who won the US Open as a qualifier in 2021, has slipped to 168th in the world after an injury-plagued 2023 season.

The 21-year-old missed the French Open but returned to competition at the Nottingham Open grass-court tournament earlier this month, where she reached the semi-finals.

"I think for me it was the case of adapting to the court," said Raducanu, who has been given a wild card for Wimbledon, which starts on July 1.

"I've never played in Eastbourne, I've never played on this centre court and every court plays a little bit differently. In the beginning, I was trying to figure out what was the best way for me to play and use my game."

Stephens, who won the US Open in 2017, broke first for a 3-2 lead but failed to hold serve for the rest of the match.

Raducanu, after saving two break points to hold for 5-4, broke the American for a third time to seal the first set and then sprinted to the finish line, completing victory in 76 minutes.

Also in first-round action on England's south coast, Elise Mertens beat Yuriko Miyazaki 6-1, 6-2 while Ashlyn Krueger overcame Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 7-5.

In the men's tournament, Britain's Cameron Norrie continued his woeful run of form, losing his first-round match against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6 (11/9), 6-3.

Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild also advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Australia's James McCabe to set up a second-round showdown with top seed Taylor Fritz.