Emma Raducanu has reached the third round for just the second time (Picture: Getty)
Emma Raducanu was ‘oozing confidence’ in her 6-1 6-2 second-round win over Elise Mertens at Wimbledon 2024 on Wednesday, says Ashleigh Barty.
The Brit was at the top of her game as she reached the third round and her level of tennis – especially in the first set – was lauded by the ex-Wimbledon champion.
Raducanu, who was handed a wildcard at this year’s Championships and has also teamed up with Andy Murray in mixed doubles, will next face ninth-seed Maria Sakkari or Dutch world No.56 Arantxa Rus in the women’s singles third round.
The 21-year-old, who won a major title at the US Open three years ago and was ranked world No.10 in 2022, is currently down at No.135 but has been in fine form during the grass-court season, recently beating the world No.5 in Eastbourne.
Raducanu was largely inactive in 2023 over long-term injury problems which then required triple surgery and a lengthy recovery period.
She is not expecting to go far at Wimbledon this year – insisting on Saturday she’d be happy to just reach the second round – despite being tipped to reach the second week by former British No.1 Tim Henman.
That may have now changed, though, after such a dominant victory over Belgium’s world No.33 Mertens on the No.1 Court which left tennis pundits purring at the All England Club.
Emma Raducanu was ‘unplayable’ in the first set on the No.1 Court (Picture: Getty)
‘I think you can see the confidence oozing from Emma at the moment,’ three-time major champion Barty, who won the Wimbledon title in 2021, told the BBC.
‘She’s come off two tournaments [Nottingham and Eastbourne] winning more than a couple of matches in a row. She has more tennis under her belt than she has in years.’
Former British No.1 Annabel Croft added: ‘Emma Raducanu looks unplayable at the moment, such beautiful ball striking.
‘She has always had a very compact, neat and tidy game. It looks like everything she is touching is turning to gold.’
Raducanu reached a WTA Tour semi-final in Nottingham as well as a quarter-final in Eastbourne heading into Wimbledon.
Spekaing on Saturday, Raducanu admitted it was the best preparation she’d ever had for a Grand Slam tournament.
Her best Wimbledon run to date came on her debut in 2021 when she progressed to the fourth round, the same year as her fairytale in New York.
Source:: Metro
