A Grand Slam debut in your home country: no pressure, right?
Apparently not for Emma Raducanu. Ranked No. 338 coming into Wimbledon, the 18-year-old is maximizing her wild card opportunity at the All England Club.
After defeating Vitalia Diatchenko, Raducanu took a big step forward Thursday when she upended 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova, 6-2, 6-4, on Court No. 12. Never mind Vondrousova’s vast edge in the experience department or the fact facing a left-hander can present its own unique challenge, Raducanu played like the veteran. She dropped serve just once and showed greater restraint when eager to pull the trigger.
Raducanu joins Dan Evans, Cam Norrie and Andy Murray in the third round of the grass-court major, and with two of them on Friday’s schedule, expect the London resident to receive a court upgrade when she meets Sorana Cirstea this weekend. With no seeds remaining in their respective quarter of the draw, this could very well be the time for a British breakout performance no one saw coming.