Emma Raducanu has said her straight-sets defeat against Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon was "hard to take". The 22-year-old delivered an impressive performance against the world No. 1 on Centre Court, but was ultimately beaten 7-6(8-6) 6-4. However, the Brit said she will "take confidence" from her display, having previously felt she was "gulfs away" from the game's top players.
"It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top.
"Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence. At the same time, it's very difficult to take right now."
Sabalenka said: "She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard. To get this win, I had to fight for every point like crazy."
The Belarusian later added: "She's fighting. She's playing much better. She's more consistent. I can see that mentally she's healthy. I think that's really important. Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's getting there."