Emma Raducanu makes her feelings known about Jessica Pegula ahead of blockbuster Miami Open QF

Emma Raducanu is back in form at the 2025 Miami Open if her fourth-round victory against 17th-seeded Amanda Anisimova is anything to go by. Following her win, the Brit acknowledged during one of her post-match interviews that she is looking forward to tapping into her "competitive spirit" against World No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the Florida event.

Raducanu had put in a listless display at the beginning of the year, having lost five of her last six matches before arriving in Miami. Moreover, the World No. 60 had also faced a stalker incident at the Dubai Tennis Championships, which would've likely shaken her focus.

However, Emma Raducanu has made plenty of amends since then, reaching her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinals at the 2025 Miami Open in style. The unseeded Brit defeated World No. 10 Emma Navarro in a third-set tiebreaker against all odds in the second round of the tournament before enjoying smooth sailing in her next two matches.

Raducanu played her best tennis at the Hard Rock Stadium this year on Monday (March 24), trouncing local favorite Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-3 in just over an hour during their fourth-round clash. Speaking to Tennis Channel afterward, the former World No. 10 was probed on her thoughts about her last-eight encounter against fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula on Wednesday, March 26.

In response, the 22-year-old heaped rich praise on her higher-ranked opponent before expressing happiness at playing such a high-stakes match. The 2021 US Open champion was also proud of her showing in Miami, considering she hasn't gone this far at a big tournament in a long time.

"Jessie is one of the most consistent players on the tour, she consistently has unbelievable results. I know it's going to be a really, really difficult match but I think I'm playing pretty good tennis and I just enjoy having an opportunity every time to be in this stage of a tournament," Emma Raducanu told Tennis Channel's Prakash Amitraj. "It's something that I need to be really proud of because it's not something that has happened very often for me."

"But I'm really happy with how the things are going, and more importantly just enjoying finding the competitive spirit again," she added.

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Emma Raducanu gives thoughts on her performance against Amanda Anisimova in Miami Open 4R

Emma Raducanu hits a backhand at Miami Open 2025 | Image Source: Getty

During the interaction with Tennis Channel, Emma Raducanu also spoke briefly about her pre-match preparations leading up to her Round-of-16 meeting with Amanda Anisimova. The Brit maintained that she had a feeling that the match could go down to the wire, as their Australian Open match had also been a tight affair.

"Yeah, it was a really tough match. I knew going into it, I mean, we played recently. Yeah, I managed to win that match but it was such a battle so I was definitely expecting that since she's won Doha, top 20 now...and I knew I had to do my best to get every point that I could," Emma Raducanu said. "And from the start, I was really proud of how I made every ball. It was quite hot and humid today so yeah, I also backed my fitness in these conditions today," she explained.

With her fourth-round win in Miami, Emma Raducanu improved to a 2-0 positive head-to-head record against Amanda Anisimova. The 22-year-old is tied 1-1 with her quarterfinal opponent Jessica Pegula, having defeated the American in their last meeting at the Rothesay International last June.