Emma Raducanu tipped for a top-10 return after running Aryna Sabalenka close
Raducanu reminded the tennis world what a special talent she is to push the top seed in a 7-6 (6) 6-4 defeat under the roof in a raucous atmosphere.
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The first set alone took 74 minutes, with Raducanu saving seven set points and creating one of her own, while she led 4-1 in the second before Sabalenka recovered to set up a fourth-round clash with Elise Mertens.
Emma Raducanu produced an impressive display but could not down Aryna Sabalenka (Adam Davy/PA)
Raducanu will now drop to British number three behind Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, who is the last home woman left in singles, but that will not be the case for long if she can maintain this level.
The former US Open champion has made it her goal to close the gap to the world's best and, having lost twice heavily to Iga Swiatek in the other two grand slams this year, she can feel very differently after her performance here.
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'She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,' said Sabalenka. 'I fight for every point like crazy.
'I'm super happy to see her healthy and back on track. I'm pretty sure that she will be back in the top 10 soon.'
For the second time in just over 24 hours, a leading British hope came into the press room with eyes red from tears, but, unlike Jack Draper, Raducanu will leave Wimbledon feeling she is closer to the very top rather than further away.
'It's hard to take a loss like that,' said Raducanu, who revealed she had sought solace in a locker room KitKat.
'At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is number one in the world, a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today.
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'It's nice of her to say that, but I think it was pretty clear the difference. In the big moments, she was able to convert, she was able to hit some incredible shots. I just need to keep working and get back to the drawing board and improve a lot more.
'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.'
Emma Raducanu had Centre Court fired up (Adam Davy/PA)
Unlike Draper, Raducanu is naturally at home on grass, with her exceptional ability to take the ball early, particularly on return, mitigating her lack of pure power.
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She gave Sabalenka a decent run for her money in their only previous meeting, in Indian Wells last spring, and a clean return winner off a second serve in the opening game showed the Belarusian that she very much meant business.
Raducanu broke to lead 4-2 before ceding her advantage in a rush of errors – something she later blamed on problems with string tension in the indoor conditions.
A remarkable 10th game saw Sabalenka fail to take seven set points, six of them through backhand errors, and the home crowd were on their feet when Raducanu broke to lead 6-5.
Aryna Sabalenka overcame a battling Emma Raducanu (John Walton/PA)
But Sabalenka is a much stronger mental competitor these days and she played a classy game to break back before saving a set point in the tie-break with the coolest of drop shots.
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Raducanu dealt with the disappointment of losing the set extremely well and hit a purple patch to move into a 4-1 lead.
She played her best tennis of the match to create a chance for the double break but just missed a forehand long, giving Sabalenka the chink of light she needed to power through to the next round.
'I don't think I could have made different choices, I think I should have just executed better,' added Raducanu, who will now turn her attention to the North American hard court swing.
'I'll probably find it tough to sleep tonight, or I'll be so exhausted and crash, I don't know. It's going to take me a few days to process that. But at the same time it really motivates me.'
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