TEEN SPIRIT
Raducanu joins Gauff in 4th round at Wimbledon
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND >> Coco Gauff isn’t the only teenager making a splash at Wimbledon this time. Emma Raducanu is suddenly stealing some of the spotlight.
The 18-year-old Raducanu and the 17-year-old Gauff both advanced to the fourth round of the grass-court Grand Slam within minutes of each other Saturday.
For Gauff, it’s the second time she’s reached the second week at Wimbledon after her breakthrough performance in 2019, and she has already become a Centre Court regular. For Raducanu, who is playing in her first Grand Slam tournament, it’s an unexpected run that has given the British crowd an instant new favorite. Raducanu became the youngest British woman in the Open era to reach the fourth round at the All England Club by beating veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 7-5.
“Who’d have thought?” Raducanu asked. “When I was packing to come into the bubble, my parents were like, ‘Aren’t you packing too many match kits?’ I think I’m going to have to do some laundry tonight.”
Raducanu was given a wildcard entry into the tournament but looked right at home playing on No. 1 Court, winning eight straight games to take a 3-0 lead in the second set. But she struggled to put away Cirstea, failing to convert three straight break points in the next game. She was
then broken and missed another five break points at 4-3 in a marathon game that lasted nearly 15 minutes.
And she needed three match points in the final game before Cirstea netted a forehand.
Gauff had an easier time completing a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kaja Juvan on Centre Court. Gauff finished with 21 winners and broke her opponent five times.
She will next play former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber, who beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 2-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Raducanu will face Ajla Tomljanovic, who was involved in a heated exchange with Jelena Ostapenko after their third-round match. Tomljanovic accused Ostapenko of faking an injury to get a medical timeout while trailing 4-0 in the third set. They traded insults at the net after the match.
“You’re behavior is terrible,” Ostapenko said. “You have zero respect.”
“You’re the one to talk,” Tomljanovic responded.
Tomljanovic won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova beat Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-5.
In men’s play, Roger Federer reached the fourth round for a record-extending 18th time by beating Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 on Centre Court. The eight-time Wimbledon champion had a slight wobble in the third set when he missed two break points at 5-5 and was then broken at love by Norrie.
After trading breaks in the fourth set, Federer broke again for a 5-4 lead.
He will play No. 23-seeded Lorenzo Sonego of Italy on Monday.
Norrie was the last British man remaining in the tournament.
Also, fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev beat American Taylor Fritz 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (4) and No. 7 Matteo Berrettini advanced past Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Nick Kyrgios had to retire with an abdominal injury after the second set of his third-round match against No. 16 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Kyrgios told a trainer he couldn’t serve properly and was worried about tearing a muscle.
“It’s getting worse and worse,” Kyrgios said. “I’m trying but I can’t even ... I can’t serve anymore. I can’t do it.”
Kyrgios won the first set 6-2 but lost the second 6-1 on No. 1 Court.
The Australian is also playing mixed doubles with Venus Williams.
The men’s singles started on a more light-hearted note when Kyrgios stepped onto the court only to realize he left his grass-court shoes in the locker room.
His mishap forced the two players to stand around for a couple of minutes before they could start their warmup.
“The one day I thought I was being a professional,” Kyrgios joked.
A Wimbledon employee reunited him with the right shoes.
Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev came from two sets down to beat former Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic and reach the fourth round of the grass-court Grand Slam for the first time.
Medvedev recovered to win 6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 on No. 1 Court. He missed three match points at 5-0 in the final set but served out the match on his second attempt.
The Australian Open runner-up joined Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in the fourth round, making it the first time in the Open era that three Russian men have advanced that far.
Top-ranked Ash Barty matched her best Wimbledon result by reaching the fourth round for the second time.
Barty beat Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 7-5 on Centre Court.
She will face French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova on Monday, a matchup she called “an incredible challenge.”
Barty won the French Open in 2019, the same year she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon.