On Wednesday, Agnieszka Radwanska produced an excellent all-round performance to defeat 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-3 and reach the quarterfinals of the Aegon International in Eastbourne. The win keeps her on course to improve on last year’s run, when she defeated Karolina Pliskova and Sloane Stephens before losing 4-6 6-4 0-6 to an inspired Belinda Bencic in the final.

Every part of Radwanska’s game looked to be in good working order during the match. She served superbly, getting 72% of her first serves in and winning 71% of points behind her first serve, and she returned very well as she got more than half her returns in play and broke Bouchard on five occasions. Radwanska also made excellent use of her net skills as she repeatedly pushed the Canadian deep and then hit decisive volleys when she came in.

Radwanska said, ‘I was feeling very good on court. I think conditions were also much nicer than yesterday, so you could probably do everything you wanted to do. I was very happy I could come back in the second set and win in two. I think I played well from beginning to end. There were a couple of breaks on the way, but I think my serve was the key. Serving well is very helpful, especially in that kind of match. It helped me in the important moments.’

She continued, ‘I think (when) playing on grass, net play is always a good thing. I was trying to do that today, and it was working pretty well.’ Radwanska also feels like she is starting to build momentum with Wimbledon coming up next week. ‘I think every match like this gives you a lot of confidence. It makes it easier afterwards at the end of the tournament or going to the Grand Slams. Now is the stage when you have to play better and better to win matches.’

Radwanska also made very few errors during the match, which is especially important against an opponent as erratic as the Canadian can be. Afterwards, the Pole described the challenges of playing Bouchard. She said, ‘What she does best is hit the ball so soon after it bounces. It's not even about the power. It's about the momentum when she's hitting the ball, and it means the ball is back just one second later. So you need to be quick. You need to react very well. Sometimes I was surprised that the ball was going nowhere, I was playing pretty deep, and then suddenly it was a winner in another corner. On the grass, it works pretty well, so she can be very dangerous on the grass.’

Radwanska herself is one of the best performers in the world on grass, and she demonstrated her skills today by playing some sensational points. When she was returning serve at 5-3 up in the first set, she hit one pinpoint forehand winner cross-court and followed it up with a classy forehand pass to set up the break that clinched the set. Then, at 1-0 and a break down in the second set, she hammered a backhand winner past Bouchard on one point and then a fizzing forehand winner down the line the next as she broke straight back in style. In the next game, she capped some stunning net play with a glorious backhand flick volley that somehow retrieved the ball when it seemed to have already passed her. And Radwanska’s point construction throughout the match was largely excellent.

Her reward is an 11th meeting with Dominika Cibulkova in the last eight. She has won seven of those 11 matches, but it is usually close and is typically decided by a few crucial points. If Radwanska can play those important points as well as she did today, she should be able to win and continue her progress through the Eastbourne draw.