Emma Raducanu admits she needs to “get my head in the game” ahead of Wimbledon after she exited the Eastbourne Open.
Raducanu almost pulled off an incredible comeback in her second-round match against Maya Joint before losing on a final-set tiebreak.
The 22-year-old revealed on Tuesday after her opening-round win that she had received “some pretty bad news” and that appeared to affect her against Joint as she looked subdued on court.
With her home grand slam around the corner, Raducanu says she needs to focus.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get over the line today but I can get some rest ahead of next week,” she told the BBC.
“I feel quite tired. Just going through some stuff and I need to do my best to get my head in the game ahead of next week.
“Realistically, the turnaround is pretty soon – it’s only four days away really that Wimbledon starts.
“I think I’m just going to start with [a day off] tomorrow [Thursday] and then hopefully I can get on the court on Friday.”
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Radacanu said dealing with her recurring back spasm can be frustrating and admits it’s an issue that comes and goes
The British No 1 looked beaten in her second-round battle with the Australian, trailing 5-2 in the deciding set.
But she produced an inspired spell, breaking Joint three times when she was serving for the match, to set up a tie-break.
Victory was in sight when she got a mini-break to lead 4-3 but Joint reeled off four successive points to claim a 4-6 6-1 7-6 victory and move into the quarter-finals.
Joint said: “Today was really tough, there was a lot of ups and downs, I was happy I was able to tough it out at the end.
“I am really glad I was able to win this match.”
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Raducanu surprised young fan Joanie Melody at the National Tennis Centre
Jodie Burrage become the second Briton in two days to miss match points to oust former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Twenty-four hours after Harriet Dart spurned victory, Burrage, the British No 7, was 0-40 up on the Czech’s serve at 6-5 in the deciding set, but she could not get over the line, with Krejcikova winning the tie-break.
In the men’s draw, Dan Evans’ recent upturn in form continued with a standout win over world No 13 Tommy Paul.
The 35-year-old is trying to find his way back to the top of the game after slumping down the ranking and results like this will help.
He ousted the No 2 seed 6-4 3-6 6-3 to set up a quarter-final tie with American Jenson Brooksby.
Lucky loser Billy Harris continued to take advantage of his reprieve, winning 6-3 6-4 against Mattia Bellucci, but British No 2 Jacob Fearnley is out, losing 6-3 6-1 to Marcos Giron.
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