Emma Raducanu’s bid for a second consecutive fairytale run at Wimbledon has ended in disappointment after she was knocked out in the second round.
The reigning US Open champion bowed out 6-3, 6-3, to Carolina Garcia in what is only her fifth Grand Slam main draw appearance. She has now lost in the second round of a major three times in a row and has only won back-to-back matches twice this year.
“It’s tough to lose any match but I think that Caroline played a great match,” said Raducanu. “She is a great player. I struggled to find a way through her today.”
“But it’s okay because coming into this I didn’t really have many expectations of myself.”
After coming through her first round match in straight sets, Rducanu faced a sterner test in the shape of Garcia. A former world No.4 who recently captured her third grass-court title at Bad Homburg in Germany. However, Raducanu has gotten the better of the Frenchwoman before after prevailing in their meeting in Indian Wells.
Playing in front of a packed Center Court crowd for the second time in a row, exchanges of breaks took place early on in the match as both women fought hard on the court. However, it was World No.11 Raducanu who faltered after dropping her serve for a second time as she fell behind 2-5. Handing Garcia enough of a margin to seal the opener.
Exiting the court for a brief break during the change of ends, Raducanu returned fired up and determined to fight. Best illustrated by the heavy-hitting she was producing on the court. Although Garcia was just as stubborn as she continued to implement her dominance. A volley at the new granted the world No.55 a duo of break point chances. She converted with the help of a Raducanu forehand error.
Continuing the roller-coaster theme, the Brit responded by breaking back right away before dropping serve once again. Prompting a variety of cheers and gasps from the animated crowd who didn’t quite know what to make of the match. Ultimately that second blip proved fatal to Raducanu’s 2022 Wimbledon campaign with Garcia charging towards victory with a three-game winning streak as she ended the encounter with a backhand cross-court winner.
“It was first-strike tennis. She served really well today. I didn’t really have any looks, many second serves. Even when I did, they were tricky ones with the wind holding them up.” Raducanu said of her opponent’s performance.
“My ball speed was just lower in general. I don’t know. Maybe it was the conditions. But, I just didn’t have enough ball speed today.” She added.
Heading into the Grand Slam the 19-year-old has experienced her own setback with a side strain forcing her to withdraw from the Nottingham Open. The latest in a series of physical issues to trouble her. She also suffered from back pain and various blisters earlier this year.
“I’ve played seven hours of tennis in a month. To even compete with these girls at this level and win a round I think is a pretty good achievement.” She said.
Despite her Wimbledon campaign coming to an end, the spotlight won’t be off Raducanu for very long with the North American swing of the Tour approaching. It was last year at the US Open where she rewrote the record books by winning 10 matches in a row to claim her maiden major title. Becoming the first qualifier to do so.
So many would assume the youngster will be under a lot of pressure in the coming weeks but she has a very different perspective on the matter.
“There’s no pressure. Why is there any pressure? I’m still 19. It’s a joke. I literally won a slam,” Raducanu stated.
“Going back to New York, it’s going to be cool because I have got a lot of experiences playing on big courts, playing with people in the stadium, playing with the spotlight on you.”
“For me, everything is learning. I’m embracing every single moment that is thrown at me.”
Raducanu’s next tournament is set to be the Washington Open.
