EMMA RADUCANU BREEZES PAST WORLD NUMBER NINE AT WIMBLEDON
Emma Raducanu has stormed to victory in her third round match at Wimbledon tonight breezing past the world number nine by dropping just five games.
The 21-year-old beat World No 9 Maria Sakkari 6-2 6-3 to reach the fourth round at SW19 for the first time since her dream run in 2021.
It is almost three years to the day since the British wildcard made her breakthrough and reached the last 16.
Raducanu, 21, will be looking to match that streak tonight as she takes on the Greek number one on Centre Court.
She is being watched by Hollywood legend Dustin Hoffman and his wife Lisa in the coveted Royal Box as well Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Raducanu's match - which is being played under the roof - comes as her British rival Sonay Kartal, 22, took on second seed Coco Gauff in her third round match, losing out 6-4 6-0.
Kartal and Raducanu have a long-standing rivalry going back to when they were children and would regularly play each other in the finals of national junior tournaments in the UK.
Raducanu has since found it easier to break onto the pro tour which kicked off with her run at Wimbledon in 2021.
Kartal, however, who came through qualifying, had never won a match at a Grand Slam before her run this week.
It is a late start for Raducanu today after an epic five set thriller over almost four hours in the men’s singles with Carlos Alcaraz being forced to dig deep to defend his Wimbledon title against Frances Tiafoe.
The nation is pinning their hopes on the 21 year old who made her return to the tournament this year after an injury-forced absence 12 months ago.
Her stunning Wimbledon debut in 2021 was was cruelly halted by breathing difficulties in her fourth round encounter against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Raducanu and Sakkari have met just once before - in the semi-final of the 2021 US Open - when the Brit cruised to victory 6-1 6-4.
It was the win that placed Raducanu in her first ever grand slam final and from there she went onto lift the Flushing Meadows trophy.
The 21 year old goes into their second match up today having already come through two relatively straight forward games - she is also yet to drop a set.
In the first round she beat World No 98 Renata Zarazua from Mexico 7-6 6-3 after she clinched the first set in the tiebreak.
Raducanu then cruised past Belgian player Elise Mertens in the second round on Court One.
Speaking after the match against the Mexican opponent, Raducanu said: 'I'm incredibly happy to be back here. I was for sure nervous, I think everyone could see that in my tennis.'
She added: 'It's amazing to play an opponent like Renata. It's not every day when in the morning you're not in the draw, and the afternoon you're playing on Centre Court, so props to her.'
Against Mertens, the former British number was able to recapture the kind of form that saw her win her first Grand Slam at the young age of 18 in 2021.
Raducanu was repeatedly interrupted by a cheering buoyant crowd as she spoke on court with a Wimbledon towel draped over her shoulders after her impressive win.
'I think I played some really good tennis today I'm really pleased,' she said. 'I'm over the moon to be playing here and just extend my stay.
'With the roof closed it was super loud and I'm so grateful to all the support today. I'm really appreciative to everyone making a lot of noise.'
And she spoke of the 'real gift and honour' of playing in the mixed doubles with Andy Murray who is appearing at Wimbledon for the last time.
'It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's a dream of mine since I was a young girl watching the Olympics,' she said.
'Andy's a hero to us all, so for me it's a real gift and a real honour that he asked me.'
Murray said himself it would be 'brilliant' to play mixed doubles with Raducanu, after the only two active British Grand Slam champions made a late night pact to pair up at Wimbledon.
The dream pairing for British fans was announced on Wednesday morning, and after his practice session for the men's double with brother Jamie, Murray said: 'We'd spoken about it a few years ago during the Covid year but both of us were doing quite well in the singles and it didn't happen.
'Yesterday I was chatting to my team and we were discussing mixed and last night I messaged her coach and asked if he thought it might be something she'd be up for doing. He said it was worth asking, so I did.
'Thankfully I got quite a quick reply! It was quite late yesterday evening when I sent the message, it would have been after 9pm so I was a bit worried she might have been in bed.
'But I got a quick reply. She said: "Yeah, let's do it".
'It should be fun. I have played mixed doubles a few times when I was young and then the last time was with Serena.
'I really enjoyed it, it's something we rarely get to do. And to get a chance to do it with Emma…well, it's my last chance to do it, so it should be good.'
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