CoCo Vandeweghe's defeat of world No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska in Birmingham means she is very likely to be seeded at Wimbledon.
The American is currently ranked 32nd, and that's expected to rise ahead of the Championships.
Going into the match, Vandeweghe had not won any of her four previous meetings with Radwanska, thought she had just won a title in 's-Hertogenbosch. It was her second championship at that tournament (and second title overall).
She was tired coming into the match—the final score was 7-5, 4-6, 6-3—but felt great about her level of play.
"I think I [had] a lot of confidence going in,” the 24-year-old said. “This was her first grass-court match. Also, I think it's like, 'It's my turn.’ I didn't think I couldn't beat her."
Vandeweghe, who plays fellow American Christina McHale in the next round—their match was postponed due to rain—will go for her seventh consecutive win.
Until last week, Vandeweghe had not gone very deep at a tournament this year (and she did not pick up many wins on clay). But as soon as she got on her favorite surface, she began to get on a roll. Last year at Wimbledon, she defeated Karolina Pliskova, Sam Stosur and Lucie Safarova before falling to Maria Sharapova in three sets in the quarterfinals.
"I think I've said it before, but I think grass and hard courts definitely accentuates what I do well,” she said. “...My pace, my power, my placement. It's just my game. It excels on grass and hard court[s]."