She has been unable to reproduce that form in the interim, with injuries and pressure taking its toll, but this year in London, Raducanu is in resplendent form once again.
Case in point? Friday’s 6-2, 6-3 thrashing of ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari on Centre Court, a match in which the 21-year-old (yes, she’s still only 21!) hardly put a foot wrong.
Raducanu, ranked No 135, will play New Zealander qualifier Lulu Sun next.
Sun, ranked 123, became the first player from New Zealand to reach the second week of Wimbledon with her win over China’s Lin Zhu earlier on Friday.
She saved all seven break points she faced and took advantage of 31 unforced errors from Sakkari’s racquet, converting three of four break points to 18-7 lifetime at the majors and 7-2 at Wimbledon.
More to follow…
Emma Raducanu beat Mexican lucky loser Renata Zarazua (7-6, 6-3) and Belgian Elise Mertens (6-1, 6-2) in the previous rounds of The Championships.
Earlier in the tournament, Sakkari, ranked No 9, defeated American qualifier McCartney Kessler (6-3, 6-1) and Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus (7-5, 6-3).
Londres (Grand Slam), other third-round results (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, grass, GBP 50.000.000, most recent results first):
