Emma Raducanu swats aside 2023 champion to set up clash with world number one

By Eleanor Crooks, PA Sport Correspondent

Emma Raducanu will take on world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon after claiming an impressive victory over former champion Marketa Vondrousova.

It will be a daunting task for the British number one but she can take great encouragement from her performance here, with Vondrousova not just the 2023 winner but also a player in hot form after beating Sabalenka and Madison Keys to win the warm-up title in Berlin.

Raducanu had good memories from a second-round win against the same player here in her breakthrough run four years ago, and this proved just as comfortable, the 22-year-old easing to a 6-3 6-3 win.

“I think today I played really, really well,” said Raducanu. “There were some points I have no idea how I turned around.

“I knew playing Marketa it was going to be an extremely difficult match. She’s won this tournament and it’s a huge, huge achievement. I’m so happy with how I focused and put my game on the court.

“I’m just so happy I get to play another match here. (Sabalenka) is number one in the world, so dominant, has won literally everything. I’m just so happy how I performed. I guess there’s no pressure at all on me.”

Vondrousova lost in the first round 12 months ago as defending champion but she was hampered by a shoulder problem, for which she subsequently underwent surgery.

Pain in the same shoulder left the Czech wondering whether she would even make it back to SW19 this year but instead she arrived as a player all the big names would have been looking to avoid after her brilliant run in Berlin.

That brought Vondrousova her first title at any level since her shock triumph here, while she could also take confidence from having beaten Raducanu in Abu Dhabi in February.

The British number one strode out on to Centre Court for the first time since losing to another left-handed player, Lulu Sun, in the fourth round 12 months ago.

She came through a potentially awkward first-round encounter against 17-year-old Mimi Xu on Monday in confident fashion and immediately set about trying to make her opponent uncomfortable.

Raducanu mixed up her tactics, varying pace and angles, and drew first blood, drilling a backhand pass down the line to break for 4-2.

She immediately dropped serve but Vondrousova threw in two double faults to give Raducanu a helping hand to a third break in succession, and this time the home favourite found the serving she needed to clinch the opening set.

It was a tactically astute set from Raducanu, and she continued in the same vein in the second, breaking the Vondrousova serve again to lead 2-1.

The Czech was left looking in her box in frustration at some of the patterns of play from Raducanu, who defended well but did not miss a chance to step in, especially on her backhand.

The only disappointment was that the 22-year-old could not force a second break earlier but she held her serve impressively and clinched a fuss-free victory on her first match point when Vondrousova sent a backhand wide.