Emma passes early fitness test as she wins opener
EMMA Raducanu put her troubled build-up behind her as she marked her Centre Court debut by defeating Alison Van Uytvanck to reach the second round of Wimbledon.
The 10th seed’s participation in the tournament was in doubt until the weekend because of a side strain suffered at the WTA Tour event in Nottingham three weeks ago.
Coupled with the huge attention on the US Open champion’s homecoming and a tricky opponent, this was a major test, but Raducanu passed it impressively by claiming a 6-4 6-4 victory.
Raducanu said: “I know Alison’s an extremely tricky opponent, she’s had great results on grass. I played her last summer and on grass where the balls stay so low it’s extremely tricky to neutralise such a great serve.
“I’m extremely pleased to have come through that match.”
On the support she has received, the 19-year-old said: “I’ve been feeling it ever since I stepped on to the practice courts, people behind me going, ‘Emma you’ve got this’. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got this’.
“I’m just so happy to stay another day.”
British number seven Yuriko Miyazaki pushed Caroline Garcia close but could not secure a firstround scalp as her Wimbledon main draw debut ended in a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (4) defeat.
The Tokyo-born world number 204 claimed the first set on Court 17 but saw the recent Bad Homburg Open winner move through the gears to level up and force a decider.
Novak Djokovic admitted he was ring rusty on his Wimbledon return, but he still set another record by battling past South Korean Kwon Soon-woo in four sets.
The six-time champion, who was playing his first official match on grass since winning last year’s final, found himself a break down in both the first two sets, dropping the second.