Emma Raducanu has enjoyed a strong start to Wimbledon, reaching the third round for the second consecutive year. It’s the first time Raducanu has ever won two matches at a Slam in back-to-back years, with the 2021 US Open winner set to play her third-round clash on Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately for Raducanu, her Wimbledon journey is being tipped to come to an end there, given she’ll be playing the world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in her round three contest. While the bookies might’ve already written her off, you can bet the partisan crowd on Centre Court will be pulling in the direction of the 22-year-old.
Raducanu almost always has the support of the home crowd at Wimbledon, with almost 50 years having passed since a Brit last triumphed at the Championships. It was no different on Wednesday, when a boisterous crowd cheered her home against Marketa Vondrousova – Raducanu running out a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victor.
However, Vondrousova has since opened up about the frustration of playing in a match where the support is so one-sided. Speaking after the straight sets defeats, the Czech ace said: “It’s very difficult with her in the centre, it seems to me that she’s a complete idol here.
“The centre was packed and she was still teasing people and demanding that they support her. She was very excited herself, from the second ball she was shouting all over the court. It’s obvious that she’s enjoying it. It’s just not pleasant. And when you play this well, you’re in a good mood and it’s hard to get out of it.”
It’s likely Raducanu will need a lot more than the support of the crowd to get past tournament favourite Sabalenka on Friday afternoon. The only previous time they’ve met in competitive action was at this year’s Indian Wells, which the Belarusian won.
Ahead of the match, Raducanu said: “I definitely think playing Aryna, she’s No. 1 in the world for a reason. You can’t really do nothing or give nothing balls to her. I’m going to have to be aggressive but pick my moments and not be overly (aggressive). I think you can fall into that trap, too. I don’t think I’m going to go out there and out-power her, like size-wise and power-wise.”