EMMA RADUCANU MARCHES ON AT WIMBLEDON AS SHE KNOCKS OUT NO 9 SEED MARIA SAKKARI IN STRAIGHT SETS ON CENTRE COURT IN A RE-RUN OF THEIR 2021 US OPEN SEMI-FINAL TO REACH FOURTH ROUND
- Raducanu beat the No 9 seed 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court on Friday evening
Emma Raducanu continued to look in the form of her career as she pulled off another barnstorming win against world No 9 Maria Sakkari on Friday.
The pair's only meeting before their Centre Court appointment was a fateful one, with Sakkari the biggest beast of the casualties she racked up as she blazed her path to that miraculous US Open final in 2021.
Ahead of their meeting, Sakkari had sought to remind those giddy about Raducanu's chances that the Briton was 'meeting a top-10 player'. After claiming her first scalp among the highest-ranking players in Jessica Pegula two weeks ago at Eastbourne, Raducanu has now added another to her collection.
On the heels of a command performance against Elise Mertens on No1 Court in the second round, where she looked the bulletproof player of three years ago in Flushing Meadows, Raducanu was more than happy to be pitched as 'the complete underdog' against the No 9 seed. She will not be able to describe herself as that against subsequent opponents in SW19 this fortnight after Friday afternoon's showing.
The Briton romped to an early lead after wrong-footing Sakkari with an early break and confident hold, roared on by a crowd already delighting in the home favourite. As if shell-shocked, it took some time for the Greek player to settle, but eventually, she was able to hold her service game and re-start her travails against the 21-year-old.
Sakkari looked in the mood for a break to level things at 3-3 but Raducanu's fluid movement saw her capable of meeting each of the pacey Greek's challenge's, and securing her hold - and the two-game lead - Raducanu for the first time wheeled away at the back of the court, responding to Centre Court's roar with a shaken fist pump.
After her tie against Mertens, Raducanu had attributed her freeness on the court partially to featuring after Carlos Alcaraz's straight-sets victory against Aleksandar Vukic. Again she followed Alcaraz, and again she seemed to mimic his gift for reaching the unreachable, pulling off a break of the Sakkari serve for 5-2 with a lob at the end of a punishing rally which shouldn't have gone in, only to charm the ball to the baseline.
Saving break point twice, Raducanu put away the first set with a confidence that she struggled to find in the early stages of the second. Sakkari's ferocity returning serve saw the former US Open champion take more time with her opening service game after a string of faults.
Shakily, Raducanu pulled off the hold and immediately broke Sakkari, now hemorrhaging unforced errors. In total, she played 31 to Raducanu's 13.
The Greek No 1 also looked visibly tighter, as Raducanu, a bundle of energy, bounced up and down the court between games. Sakkari has failed to get to a Grand Slam final since 2021, with her big-match mental block at majors showing no sign of clearing.
Conceding the advantage she had won two points prior at 2-1 on Raducanu's serve, Sakkari let out an agonised cry in the direction of her player box, remonstrating her team, herself, perhaps the occasion altogether, and it was moments before the Briton pulled off her inevitable hold.
Sakkari was able to claim two more games on her serve, but there was little that she could do to drag Raducanu to her level, and it was with a confident break of serve that Raducanu booked her spot in the second week.
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