Centre Court brings sparkle out of Raducanu
Emma Raducanu rediscovered her sparkle yesterday on Centre Court, in every sense. She wore the bling, and then – by overcoming Alison Van Uytvanck in straight sets – she delivered the sting.
Kitted out in pearl earrings, a pendant necklace and a Tiffany bracelet, Raducanu resembled a woman on her way to a movie premiere. But her actual appointment was considerably more stressful, as she faced a talented Belgian shotmaker who had already won two grass-court titles this summer.
Raducanu had been short of practice time, thanks to the side strain she suffered at Nottingham on the first day of her own home season. She was understandably erratic in the early stages, particularly on her more vulnerable forehand side, which sprayed errors like confetti.
Yet Raducanu was desperate to deliver on her Centre Court debut, and she applied herself with a steely focus. Her game might not have clicked into place with the same precision as it did last summer, when she shocked everyone by reaching the fourth round here while ranked No338 in the world. But she scrapped and sprinted, and surged for the line when she saw it, shovelling a two-handed volley into the open court to complete her 6-4, 6-4 victory in 1hr 41min.
After the match, Raducanu, who will play French world No55 Caroline Garcia in the second round, showed up for her press conference in a shirt featuring Rafael Nadal’s “raging bull” logo, and then told reporters that she had taken inspiration from the Spaniard’s never-saydie mentality.
“Rafa just embodies fight, that sort of energy,” said Raducanu. “That’s what I’m bringing in. I didn’t play tennis for two weeks. Then this week I’ve hit like an hour a day. My preparation wasn’t necessarily the greatest. But I know that when it comes to the matches, I feel like I really switch on. I don’t feel like I need a massive amount of preparation. I think a lot of it is mental, and I definitely went out with the belief today.”
This was the Briton’s first straightsets win at a major since September’s US Open final. Perhaps it was no coincidence that it came at Wimbledon, because she seemed to feed off the fans’ desperate well-wishing. “I’ve felt people behind me,” she said. “They’re saying, ‘Emma, you’ve got this!’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got this!’”
It is not always easy to draw positive energy from a home crowd. There are many fine players who find the expectation inhibiting rather than inspiring. And there was an unusual sense of fan anxiety on Centre Court yesterday.
They whimpered audibly in the middle of rallies, and they groaned in despair whenever Raducanu missed a clear opening. Even the line judges were affected by the mounting tension, committing three clear errors that had to be overturned by Hawk-eye.
The lines of Raducanu’s stylish outfit were slightly distorted by a wad of heavy strapping around her left side. She started off serving cautiously, and her groundstrokes also had a tentative feeling. The first set drifted along slowly for half a dozen games. For all Raducanu’s obvious rustiness, she kept herself on track: a woman picking her way down a slippery path on a moonless night.
The nail-chewing Centre Court crowd began to breathe slightly more easily when she broke in the seventh game, bringing up the opportunity with a rifled backhand return winner.
It seems daft to call this shot a return to vintage form when we are talking about a 19-year-old who won a major just nine months ago. But that is how it felt. Raducanu has struggled to rediscover those standards this year, partly through a series of physical ailments. In the circumstances, it was thrilling to see her revisit one of her favourite plays.
From here on in, there were more breaks than you might find at your local A&E department. Van Uytvanck’s first serve can be pacy, reaching a top speed of 113mph. But every time she missed it, you could almost see her gulp at the prospect of Raducanu chewing up her second serve.
Raducanu’s support team will have been particularly chuffed by the way she finished so strongly, reeling off five of the last six games after going a break down in the second set. For a woman whose physicality has been an ongoing concern, that was an encouraging sign.
But then grass-court tennis is generally easier on the joints and the lungs than other forms of the game. The mind is where the battle is really fought, and that is where Raducanu showed her class here. It would have been so easy to panic in front of all the cameras and all the anxious fans.
Instead, Britain’s leading lady shone in the limelight once again.