Teen sensation Emma Raducanu proves she is the real deal

Without fear of accusations of hyperbole, we can declare that a star is born. The youngest British woman to reach the round of 16 in the Open era faces Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic next.

Britain's Emma Raducanu waves to the fans as she leaves the court after winning against Romania's Sorana Cirstea during their women's singles third round match on the sixth day of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. Picture: AFP

Without fear of accusations of hyperbole, we can declare that a star is born. Andy Murray was only able to reach the third round of Wimbledon as an 18-year-old. This particular teenager looks like she could be competing here towards the tailend of next week.

Emma Raducanu is the antidote to all the worries about Murray and his hip, the concerns about Johanna Konta’s bad luck. She plays as if every point is both huge fun and a giant puzzle. She plays without fear, she wins in style.

Emma Raducanu in action. Picture: Getty Images

Everyone watching on No 1 Court would have been deliriously happy if Raducanu had slogged her way to victory. They back the Brits no matter what. But in the world No 338 we have a player who entertains, who delivers the sort of winners that induce incredulity. Often she appeared to have been outwitted but found a winning shot from an acute angle. Her running forehand is a thing of beauty.

Raducanu, the youngest British woman to reach the round of 16 in the Open era, will next face Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. “She will definitely have the crowd,” Tomljanovic said in the understatement of the fortnight.

It could well be that the stars are aligning for the teenager because Tomljanovic, ranked 78, beat Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, who might have been better able to withstand the wave of emotion from the stands. Sorana Cirstea, Raducanu’s opponent, struggled with the passionate partisanship.

Cirstea, ranked 45, is usually the one turning the seeding on its head, overcoming a more feted opponent with a high-risk game, and she could barely comprehend her new role.

It is not that Raducanu won because of the support but she certainly fed off the crowd’s energy. It represented a masterclass in how to harness public adoration and she rewarded those courtside by expressing her gratitude in her post-match interview, telling the assembled, smiling throng that her parents told her she had packed too much kit so she would need to make use of the laundry service at her hotel. Entering the second week was not on the agenda but she is so very comfortable here.

Raducanu waved as she entered the arena as if show courts are her bread and butter. It was a sign of how she would embrace the occasion. A mark of how excited and sure the spectators were that a new British gem has been unearthed came with the sound of bemused disappointment that she did not break serve immediately. As if annoyed herself, Raducanu won her first service game to love and issued a roar as she did so.

A double fault in her second service game was greeted with such sad sighs that it would have been forgivable had she wobbled under the pressure. And even though her serve was broken, when she broke straight back it seemed like she had won the match.

Raducanu played many sports before devoting herself to tennis, including engaging in ballet, and this much was clear as she fell to her haunches for two shots in a row, enabling her to win the point. The spectators gasped at her agility. Raducanu grinned when a rescue lob went long.

The Wimbledon crowd is on Raducanu’s side. Picture: Getty Images

Raducanu was adept at wrong- footing her increasingly annoyed opponent and entered a purple patch, winning eight games in a row, so there was little surprise when she broke in the second set. Her running-forehand crosscourt winners prompted shrieks from the crowd but Cirstea stopped the rot to make it 3-1. The Romanian, long admired by her opponent, then broke serve.

You could see the crowd pouting, but the teenager ended a mini-blip characterised by loose forehands and a poor ball toss to lead 4-3. As Cirstea battled to save her serve she played a drop shot that Raducanu ran in to dispatch with pace and power.

Match point came and went, then came back again after a scintillating crosscourt winner. Then a marginal call went against the British player and it was deuce again. The air was heavy with tension but it was delaying the inevitable. Raducanu fell to her knees and the noise was almost deafening. It was not simply that we have a new British winner but that she is so darned brave and enthralling.

“Someone has to be in the second week,” she said, laughing, “why not me?”

The Times