Wild card Emma Raducanu suffered a shock defeat to qualifier Lulu Sun as her encouraging run at Wimbledon ended in disappointment in the fourth round on Sunday.
The 21-year-old had raised hopes of more US Open-style performances by winning her opening three matches without dropping a set.
But she looked nervous against powerful New Zealand player Sun, the first qualifier to reach the women's singles quarterfinals here in 14 years, and lost 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 despite fighting back to reach the deciding set.
“It was a great match against her. She made me work really hard to get the win,” an emotional Sun said.
“I had to fight tooth and nail against her… she was clearly going to run for every ball and fight until the end.
“I was looking around [Centre Court] And I am experiencing all this for the first time.
“I am so happy to be able to play on this court in front of all of you. It was an amazing experience for me.”
Left-hander Sun, who had never won a Grand Slam main draw match before this week and is now on a seven-match winning streak, has scored 52 winning goals compared to Raducanu's only 19 and will now face Donna Vekich To make it to the semi-finals.
It has not been a comfortable 24 hours for Raducanu, with the positive energy generated by her three impressive victories dashed by the fact that she missed her final Wimbledon appearance against Andy Murray and pulled out of the mixed doubles opener, citing a stiff wrist.
She found herself the subject of unwanted headlines, with Judy Murray's social media contributions – although the latter claimed they were not critical of Raducanu – adding fuel to the fire.
The bandage she wore on her right wrist during practice on Saturday was nowhere to be seen and Raducanu looked happy and comfortable batting alongside fellow British player Liam Broady ahead of the match.
But, right from the start of the contest on Centre Court, the former US Open champion, who knows only too well what qualifiers can achieve, did not look at all comfortable.
His serve, which had been his main strength throughout the tournament, was poor and his groundstrokes lacked the usual punch.
Elsewhere, looking like playing on Centre Court was something she had been doing all her life, the 23-year-old Sun crushed the ball and twice broke Raducanu's serve – which the Briton had not dropped since the first round – to go 3-0 ahead.
Raducanu earned a break but her comeback didn't last long as Sun, who had beaten eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round, then grabbed another break and then the set.
The Briton was again under pressure early in the second set but this time she managed to hold her serve and the 123rd-ranked Sun hit an easy forehand volley on break point at 1-1.
Raducanu then had two break points in the next game but was unable to change the momentum, missing two backhand returns on her second serve.
She was held again in the seventh game, but at least she produced some of her best tennis to save two more break points.
Raducanu's efforts to hold on to her lead on serve were rewarded at 5-6 when Sun pushed a little tighter, missed an overhead and then went long on her second set point.
However, the mood changed in the opening game of the third set when Raducanu slipped while hitting a forehand, sat down on the ground and, shaking her head, called for the trainer, who worked on her left hip, leg and back, which she had been holding from time to time during the second set.
Raducanu had to undergo surgery on her left ankle as well as both wrists after slipping during a tournament in Auckland last year.
She resumed with confidence but looked a little unsure in her movement and lost serve. The crowd tried to push Raducanu to break back but a double fault denied her a second break at 2-4 and Sun sealed a deserved win after two hours and 50 minutes.
Paolini reaches Wimbledon quarters after Keys retires with injury
Madison Keys forced to retire from match against French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini with injury
French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini reached the quarterfinals for the first time when Madison Keys was forced to retire with a back injury at 5–5 in the third set.
Playing under the closed roof of Court One on another wet day at the All England Club, Keys looked to have one foot in the last eight when she was 5-2 up in the deciding set and went to serve for the match but grabbed her left groin shortly after the break.
The 12th-seeded American called for a trainer after one game and limped off the court for a medical timeout but later returned with her left thigh heavily bandaged.
When play resumed, she broke down in tears after hitting a drop shot into the net as she trailed 15-40. Although the 29-year-old saved the first break point with a backhand winner, she broke down again after losing her serve with a double fault.
Struggling to even move between points, Keys somehow made a lob to win the first point in Paolini's next service game. But when she saw the next point go past her for an ace, she shook her head to signal it was over and walked to the net and embraced her Italian opponent in tears.
The seventh seeded Italian came back from 5-1 down in the second set to force a tiebreaker and eventually the score read 6-3, 6-7 (8-6), 5-5 in Paolini's favour, leaving a dejected Keys to retire from the match.
“I feel very sad for him. It's sad for the match to end like that. We played a really good match. It was really tough, there were a lot of ups and downs. I'm a bit happy, but also sad for him, because it's not easy to win like that,” Paolini, who hadn't won a tour-level main draw match on grass before this year, told the crowd in a courtside interview.
“It was a rollercoaster. I started really well and really focused on the court, but she is a great champion and she raised her level, so it was difficult to return the balls. I was repeating to myself stay there. At the end I found out that she retired, but I am here with the win.
“I hope you enjoyed the match,” the 28-year-old said after becoming the fifth Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in the professional era, equalling her country's best result at the grasscourt major.
Paolini will next face the US Open champion Coco Gauff or the American 19th seed Emma Navarro,
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