Teenage dream
Raducanu, 18, Gauff, 17, move into the 4th round
WIMBLEDON, England — Here’s how hushed the crowd at No. 1 Court was before points Saturday: You could hear wild-card entry Emma Raducanu’s palm slap her thigh while she waited to receive serves.
Here’s how loud the place got after points: You could close your eyes and monitor the collective reactions that followed each — the “Awwwwww!” of disappointment or the on-their-feet roar of joy — as the 18-year-old became the youngest British player, female or male, to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round in more than a half-century.
Yes, Coco Gauff now has some company when it comes to being a teen in Week 2 at the All England Club. Shortly before Gauff, a 17-yearold American, made her way to the fourth round at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament for the second time in a row by beating 102nd-ranked Kaja Juvan of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3 at Centre Court, Raducanu finished off her 6-3, 7-5 win over 45th-ranked Sorana Cirstea of Romania a short walk away.
“Right now, I’m on such a buzz and such a high,” said Raducanu, the 338th-ranked wild-card entry who is still waiting to find out the grades of her high school exams.
“When I heard the crowd just roar for the first time, I was like, ‘Wow, they’re so behind me.’ I was just feeding off of their energy,” she said after displaying both slick groundstrokes, often on the run, that produced 30 winners and a resiliency when things got tight. “I’m just so excited I get to play in front of them again.”
That she will, in what is not only her Grand Slam debut but just her second tour-level event of any sort.
After Sunday’s traditional middleof-the-fortnight day of rest — which is being done away with in 2022 — Raducanu faces Ajla Tomljanovic in the round of 16 Monday. Tomljanovic got into a bit of a kerfuffle with Jelena Ostapenko after eliminating the 2017 French Open champion 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and accusing her of lying about needing to leave the court for a medical timeout to address an abdominal issue.
“She can say she was injured,” Tomljanovic said. “I don’t think she was.”
No. 20 seed Gauff meets 2018 champ Angelique Kerber, the only past Wimbledon winner still going, while other women’s matchups include No. 1 Ash Barty, the 2019 French Open champion, vs. No. 14 Barbora Krejcikova, last month’s French Open champion, and No. 19 Karolina Muchova vs. No. 30 Paula Badosa.
A tip Gauff counted on during her breakthrough two years ago — when she, like Raducanu now, was ranked outside the top 300 — came from former First Lady Michelle Obama: “It’s OK to say ‘No’ to some things.”
That could serve Raducanu well, too, given how much of a frenzy she is stirring up for the home fans.
No British woman has won Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1977, and Raducanu is the country’s last player in either singles bracket (Federer beat the lone remaining man, No. 29 Cameron Norrie).
At a glance
LOOKAHEAD TO MONDAY: After Wimbledon takes the middle Sunday off for the last time,“Manic Monday” awaits. The tournament is the only major where all of the men’s and women’s fourth-round matches are scheduled for the same day. Eight-time champion Roger Federer and two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic will both face opponents who never had been past the first round before this year. Federer takes on No. 23-seeded Lorenzo Sonego, and Djokovic plays No. 17 Cristian Garin. The top-seeded woman, 2019 French Open champ Ash Barty, will try to reach the quarterfinals for the first time when she meets 2021 French Open champ Barbora Krejcikova.
SATURDAY’S KEY RESULTS Women’s second round: No. 1 Ash Barty beat Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 7-5; No. 14 Barbora Krejcikova beat Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-5; No. 20 Coco Gauff beat Kaja Juvan 6-3, 6-3; Emma Raducanu beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 7-5.
Men’s second round: No. 2 Daniil Medvedev beat No. 32 Marin Cilic 6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2; No. 4 Alexander Zverev beat No. 31 Taylor Fritz 6-7 (3), 64, 6-3, 7-6 (4); No. 6 Roger Federer beat Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4; No. 7 Matteo Berrettini beat Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
STAT OF THE DAY
66: Years since the last time more than one man from Italy reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Sonego are both that far this time.