Emma Raducanu blitzes Sloane Stephens in Eastbourne battle of US Open champs 

Emma Raducanu thrilled the home crowd with an emphatic victory over Sloane Stephens at the Rothesay International Eastbourne, 6-4, 6-0.

The 2021 US Open champion continued her solid start to the grass-court season, winning the final nine games to defeat the 2017 winner in 76 minutes on Center Court and book a popcorn second round against No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula.

Raducanu is coming off a semifinal finish in Nottingham, where she narrowly lost to countrywoman and eventual champion Katie Boulter but is playing only her second tournament since the Mutua Madrid Open, having opted to miss Roland Garros to prepare for the grass- and hard-court swings.

The decision appears to have paid off for the former world No. 10, who accepted a wild card into Eastbourne. Raducanu won her only previous meeting with Stephens back in 2022, when she defeated the American in three sets at the Australian Open, and Stephens has largely struggled since winning her eighth career WTA title in Rouen.

Still, the former world No. 3 proved a challenge in the opening set, breaking Raducanu to take a 4-3 lead.

The 21-year-old Raducanu came alive from there, rolling through the remainder of the match without losing a game, ending the contest with an impressive 24 winners to 13 unforced errors. Stephens, by contrast, managed just 11 winners to 15 unforced errors.

Awaiting the Brit in the next round will be Pegula, who kicked her own comeback into high gear at the ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin, winning the title in just her second tournament since playing the Credit One Open in Charleston.