Coco Vandeweghe delighted the Birmingham crowd with a superb display of all-court tennis to defeat top seed and world No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 4-6 6-3 in a thrilling first-round match. It was the perfect way to follow up her stunning week in Hertogenbosch, where she won her second Ricoh Open without dropping a set.

Today’s result was a welcome change from previous meetings with Radwanska, who plays a completely different style of tennis from Vandeweghe and had beaten her in straight sets in each of their past four meetings. Vandeweghe said, ‘It's been a big puzzle for me as I've lost four times before. But I had a lot of confidence going in. This was her first grass court match, and I think it was my turn. If you lose too many times, you think, “Well, it's got to be my turn soon.” I didn't think I couldn't beat her. And today I executed my game plan.’

It was also the first time the players had met on grass, which seems to be Vandeweghe’s strongest surface, although she feels equally comfortable on hard courts. She said, ‘I think grass and hard courts definitely accentuate what I do well. I can cause big problems for opponents with my pace, my power, my placement, and my serve, and I return pretty decently too. I definitely cause more havoc for players on grass and hard courts than on clay.’

Vandeweghe certainly put Radwanska under all kinds of pressure in today’s match – mostly because every part of her game was working well. She hit her groundstrokes hard and deep and into all corners of the court, meaning the Pole was constantly on the back foot and found it hard to get into rallies as much as she would want. The American also frequently followed in her best groundstrokes and clinically swept a volley or half-volley into an open part of the court for a winner. And while Vandeweghe’s serve was not quite at its explosive best, it rarely let her down when she needed it most, and it enabled her to save five of the eight break points she faced.

The first set of the match was tight and locked at 4-4 when the players were forced to leave the court on Tuesday due to rain. And Vandeweghe produced arguably her best tennis of the match when it resumed as, for three consecutive games from 5-4 down, she barely made a single error and powered a succession of awesome forehands and backhands deep into the court, with each one either a clean winner or the decisive blow in the current rally. Unsurprisingly, she won all three games to take the first set in style.

Unfortunately for Vandeweghe, rain intervened again at 1-0 to Radwanska in the second set, and the American struggled for rhythm when the players came back out over an hour later, which led to her losing three of the next four games to go 4-1 down. She responded superbly, producing a near-perfect return game to break back that began with a fierce backhand that caught Radwanska off guard, continued with a stinging forehand winner down the line and another backhand winner, and ended when the Pole netted a forehand. Vandeweghe’s joy at breaking back was short-lived, however, as Radwanska raised her level and demonstrated her outstanding defensive qualities during her best game of the match to break the American again and take the second set 6-4.

In the final set, Vandeweghe seemed determined to ensure it would be her day and, after firing herself up with a cry of ‘Come on!’ in the second game of the set, she proceeded to pepper Radwanska’s baseline with several brutal returns. This sustained power hitting earned her consecutive breaks of serve, a 5-2 lead, and a chance to serve for the match. But the Pole refused to go without a fight, and Radwanska produced a near-perfect returning game of her own to break the American to love. Vandeweghe didn’t let it bother her and unleashed her groundstrokes to stunning effect once more to break Radwanska again to seal victory. Vandeweghe will face her compatriot Christina McHale in round two, and if she plays anywhere near as well as she did today, she should win comfortably. What a display.