What a way to rebound! Emma Raducanu looks formidable on grass again as she demolishes Ukraine's Daria Snigur, days after split from her billionaire boyfriend

It was not only surprisingly impressive that Emma Raducanu managed 11 aces in yesterday’s short, sweet victory. It was that there were many more serves besides which were simply unreturnable from the British 21-year-old appearing in fine fettle ahead of Wimbledon.

That sharp improvement in her serving was evident against Daria Snigur, the Ukrainian ranked 127th in the world who was supposed to pose much more of a threat to Raducanu’s stay at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham than her previous opponent, Ena Shibahara.

It is a part of her game that Raducanu has worked on perfecting since her disappointing performances in the Middle East in February and formed a strong foundation for her 6-2, 6-2 victory in 79 minutes here. Snigur never truly looked like stopping the former US Open champion from reaching the quarter-finals of a tournament which could land her a first WTA title.

Raducanu will face either Francesca Jones or Ashlyn Krueger next, knowing that the provision world rankings show another victory would propel her towards the top 150, up from the 209th position she currently occupies.

‘I should celebrate every single win, to be honest, like it’s my first win ever,’ Raducanu said. ‘Because I know how hard they are to come by. Every win for me is great.

‘There’s no harm in celebrating it. I’m pleased with my levels. I know if I keep putting good levels out on the practice courts, on the match courts, then the results will come.’

On her number of aces, she added: ‘I’ve been working on every part of my game but obviously the serve is very important. We’ve been practising. It’s not like you can do something and then it all of a sudden becomes better. It’s repetition. I’m pleased to see the rewards in competition.

‘Playing matches with just a second serve is never fun. I’ve realised when playing the top opponents, like Iga (Swiatek) or Aryna (Sabalenka), you need a first serve. They’ve very comfortable holding serve. If you don’t have one yourself then it’s very difficult to be on a level playing field.’

Raducanu trailed 2-0 in the first set but went on to win the next six games in succession. With that momentum, she broke Snigur twice in the second set to secure the win.

Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie suffered a shock 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Jack Pinnington Jones in Nottingham, meaning Jack Draper will become the new British No 1 for the first time.

'I was very disappointed with the match, but I am happy that Jack (Pinnington Jones) is through,’ said Norrie, who will play Queens next. ‘He deserves the win and hopefully he can go further.'

Pinnington Jones is currently 773rd in the world but in beating Norrie, ranked 39th, the little-known 21-year-old from Kingston upon Thames did his chances of a Wimbledon wildcard no harm. He faces Italy’s Mattia Bellucci next.