Emma Raducanu put in a mixed display en route to a 6-4, 6-1 straight-sets victory over Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova on Thursday, but she did enough to book herself a Queen's Club quarterfinal place and reclaim her British No. 1 spot.
Raducanu came out firing and raced to a 5-0 advantage in the opening set -- at one point winning a game after saving three break points. However, a rough patch followed that saw Sramkova ease her tensions and claw her way back to 5-4.
The Brit managed to hold her serve and went onto take the second set with few issues.
"I am really pleased to get through that. I don't think it was my cleanest performance but I am really pleased to push through in the tight moments. I really appreciate the support in that spell when she was coming back," Raducanu told the BBC.
Raducanu will be British No. 1 when the newsest rankings are released next week after her doubles teammate Katie Boulter lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Russia's Diana Shnaider earlier on Thursday.
"Honestly it was a real challenge for me today. I am not used to playing doubles and I was really upset and really felt I was out of the tournament so it was difficult to fire myself up for this," Raducanu said.
When asked if she would pair up with Boulter again, she stopped short of promising to re-unite for this year's Wimbledon championships, although she said she enjoyed the experience.
"I'd really like to play with Katie again in the future," she added.
- Queen's Club 2025: Katie Boulter out, loses British No. 1
- Wimbledon champions to receive over $4M as prize money up 7%
- WTA to protect rankings for players having fertility procedures
