Britain’s Emma Raducanu stunned Elise Mertens on Wimbledon’s No 1 Court on Wednesday, 6-1 6-2, to reach the 3rd-round of The Championships, where she is joined by her compatriot and friend, Sonay Kartal, who fought her way past Clara Burel, 6-3 5-7 6-3, but Lily Miyazaki’s match against Daria Kasatkina was postponed to Thursday because of rain that delayed the schedule.
I think I’m playing really good tennis. I knew all the hard yards I was putting in would lead to something. I’m so happy to be able to reap some of the rewards at Wimbledon. The most important thing is focusing on myself. I did that really well, taking care of business, staying in the zone in your own little world – so important when serving out a match like that. Emma Raducanu
Raducanu had struggled a bit in her opener on Monday, when she faced Mexican lucky loser Renata Zarazua instead of the seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who pulled out just hours ahead of their match due to illness, leaving the wild-carded Brit underdog as the sudden favourite to win, which she eventually did, in 2 tight sets, 7-7(0) 6-3.
“It doesn’t need to be beautiful,” she said afterwards about ‘winning ugly’. “It doesn’t need to be perfect.”
Reverting to her underdog status again, Raducanu produced an impressive display against the highly experienced Elise Mertens, who is ranked 33 in singles and No 1 in doubles, dismantling the Belgian with apparent ease.
She produced a nervy return and a double-fault in the opening 2 points of the match, though, but quickly settled down to assert her authority, serving strongly and overpowering Mertens with her power from the baseline, key.
Mertens has 8 singles titles under her belt, and has reached at least the 3rd round in 22 of her last 26 Grand Slams appearances, but she could find no answer to Raducanu’s power and placement under the closed roof of No 1 Court, as the Brit never eased off the pressure.
She positively raced through the first set, and maintained her level in an equally impressive second.
Her reward is a place in the Last 32 for the first time since her historic US Open triumph in 2021 as an 18-year-old qualifier.
“I think I’m playing really good tennis,” she said. “I knew all the hard yards I was putting in would lead to something. I’m so happy to be able to reap some of the rewards at Wimbledon.
“The most important thing is focusing on myself. I did that really well, taking care of business, staying in the zone in your own little world – so important when serving out a match like that.”
Raducanu struck 22 winners to her 14 unforced errors and held Mertens to just 14 winners that offset her 21 miscues.
A relaxed Emma Raducanu enjoys some inter-action with the No 1 Court crowd after winning her match against Elise Mertens on Day 3 at Wimbledon
© Andre Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images
Finding consistency of form, Raducanu is winning back-to-back victories these days, in successive tournaments, reaching the semi-finals at Nottingham and the quarters at Eastbourne, and capping it off with a Last 32 appearance at Wimbledon.
From the get-go, Raducanu was on the offensive against Mertens, and racked up break opportunities against a competitor who has all the skills to disrupt the best.
A perfectly-timed drop-shot finally got the break for Raducanu, who breached the Belgian defence again 21 minutes later, before closing out the set with an emphatic un-returnable serve.
Mertens sought to alter the course of the match at the start of the second, creating angles and changing her tack, but Raducanu’s uncanny anticipation sealed a break for 2-1, and she didn’t look back, despite everything that the canny Belgian tried to throw at her.
It seems that missing the clay-court French Open in order to be better prepared for the Wimbledon grass is proving to be a wise decision for Raducanu, who also has opted out of the Olympics in order to focus on the north American hard court swing leading into the US Open in September.
On a day when she agreed to team up with Andy Murray in the mixed doubles, Raducanu’s grin was as wide as it gets.
“I couldn’t say no,” she said of the newly-dubbed ‘dream team’. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve dreamed of it since the 2012 Olympics [where Murray & Laura Robson won mixed doubles silver].
“Andy’s a hero to all of us, so, for me, it’s a real gift and an honour that he asked me.”
Asked in her on-court interview if it was the best she has played in the past few years, several fans in a boisterous crowd shouted ‘yes’.
A laughing Raducanu replied: “Well, everyone else said yes!”
In the Last 32 on Friday, Raducanu will take on Maria Sakkari, the 9th seed from Greece, whom she memorably beat to reach the US Open final almost 3 years ago.
Sakkari defeated Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus, 7-5 6-3 out on Court 12.
Sonay Kartal pulled off another upset win at Wimbledon, this time over Clara Burel on Court 3 at the All England Club on Wednesday
© Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Earlier on Wednesday, World No 298 Sonay Kartal pulled off another fine win, outlasting France’s Clara Burel, ranked 45, some 253 places above her, 6-3 5-7 6-3, out on No 3 Court .
The 22-year old, who comes from Brighton, qualified for the main draw and added to her 1st-round win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea on Monday, earning herself a pay check of at least £143,000 in prize money, and a date with Coco Gauff in the Last 32 on Friday.
Kartal became the first home player to reach the Wimbledon 3rd round this year, after rain delayed the start of play at 11am on the outside courts, while she is also the second British woman to make the Last 32 as a qualifier in the Open era, and the first since Karen Cross in 1997.
She feared she would be unable to return to the tour for the rest of this year after a serious health scare in January, but has since recovered to come through qualifying.
The Brit powered through the first set, and led by a break in the second, but Burel fought back to force a decider, the Frenchwoman’s confidence rising as she unleashed some brilliant backhand passes.
Kartal composed herself, and broke in the 5th game of the third when a forehand clipped the net cord and landed on Burel’s side, with a volley sealing another break and the win in 2 hours 15 minutes.
“Today is a really special day for me,” Kartal said. “Monday was a high, but I’ve topped that today.”
The British No 9 will next face Gauff, the World No 2 and the reigning US Open champion, who dispatched the statuesque Anca Todoni from Romania, 6-2 6-1 in just 66 minutes on No 1 Court.
‘It’s going to be a tough match, a fun match,’ Kartal added, with a huge smile.
