Emma Raducanu proves her point in Wimbledon win after getting huge slice of luck
Emma Raducanu has endured some difficult times in recent years, but she showed all her class upon her return to Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old missed last year’s tournament following wrist and ankle surgeries and said in April she was "mentally and emotionally exhausted" by the toil of refinding her game. But after reaching the semi-final at the Nottingham Open and the quarter-final at Eastbourne, she revealed she had “rekindled the love of tennis”.
That was clear on Centre Court on Monday evening as the 2021 US Open champion revelled in the occasion to overcome Renata Zarazua 7-6 6-3. Raducanu had originally been drawn against 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, but saw her opponent change hours before the match after the Russian withdrew injured.
That was undoubtedly a slice of luck, with world No.98 Zarazua making her first appearance in the Wimbledon main draw. But Raducanu is currently only ranked No.135 as she attempts to climb up the rankings – and this was no walkover against the lucky loser from Mexico.
Cheered on by David Beckham in the royal box, Raducanu broke in the first set, but threw away her lead in the eighth game with some sloppy groundstrokes which told the story of rustiness. By the time the tie-break came around, it appeared to be anyone’s set, yet Raducanu immediately took control.
She reeled off seven successive points with some authoritative shots as Zarazua crumbled under the pressure. Raducanu’s backhand, in particular, looked in fine fettle, with the Brit hitting the ball a lot harder than her opponent.
The body language was good, too, with the home favourite spurred on by the crowd and giving plenty of screams and fist pumping to celebrate winners. Carrying the expectations of a nation is not easy and on a day when Heather Watson was knocked out in the first round on Court 18, Raducanu looked composed and focused.
Emma Raducanu of Great Britain plays a forehand against Renata Zarazua
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Her dominance continued into the second set, with a break backed up by a crucial hold of serve in the seventh match from 15-30 down to take control at 5-2 up. The first match point came and went on Zarazua's serve, but Raducanu produced the shot of the match in the final game to retrieve a drop-shot and serve it out to clinch the win.
The statistics demonstrated her will to win: Raducanu not only won more points than her opponent, she attacked more, ran more and hit more winners.
Raducanu's words from Eastbourne last week now made complete sense. She told the BBC: "I'm very happy to have rekindled the love for tennis and just enjoying the challenges that come with it and not getting so down about it, just trying a way to go around.
"I'm just really grateful to have this feeling again because it's something that I feel like I've been missing in a way for the last few years, and I haven't felt this good about my tennis and excited about it and passionate for a long, long time."