‘I CAN COMPETE WITH ANYONE WHEN I GO FOR IT’

FROM BACK PAGE added: “Big matches and big occasions are the ones that I really get the most fired up for. It’s definitely a different feeling.

“My preparation wasn’t necessarily the greatest but I know that when it comes to the matches, I feel like I really switch on. A lot of it is mental and I definitely went out with the belief today. I know that I can compete with anyone on the other side of the court when I really go for it.”

It was the 19-year-old’s first match on Centre Court and Raducanu revelled in her exalted surroundings. “It was an amazing experience,” she said. “From the moment I walked out through those gates, I could really just feel the energy and the support and everyone was behind me from the word go.

“I just really tried to cherish every single point on there. I played every point like it could have been one of my last on that court. To play on Centre Court and get a win first time, it’s amazing. Now every time I go back, I’m just going to have had a great first experience. I felt good out there. There were some tough moments in the second set physically, but I told myself: ‘Push through. If you win in two sets, then you don’t have to play three’. That’s the tactic.”

The 10th seed will face France’s Caroline Garcia, who eliminated Britain’s Yuriko Miyazaki, in the second round tomorrow.