Emma Raducanu’s attempt to capture her first Wimbledon championship came to an end as the US Open winner was defeated by unseeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in the second round. Harriet Dart, with an amazing victory, becomes the 10th British player to get to the second round.
Emma Raducanu’s comeback to Wimbledon was disappointing as the US Open winner was eliminated in the second round by Caroline Garcia in straight sets.
The 19-year-old has so far been unable to live up to the expectations, and a year after shooting to fame with a run to the fourth round and then pulling off the seemingly impossible in New York, she succumbed to a tame 6-3 6-3 defeat on Centre Court.
After missing three weeks of action due to a side strain, Raducanu was just unable to match Frenchwoman Garcia throughout the 86-minute encounter. The next Grand Slam performance for Raducanu will be at the US Open, but she says there won’t be any pressure leading up to her title defense.
There is no obligation. For instance, why is there pressure? Still just 19, It’s a joke, sort of. I genuinely achieved a Slam.” It will be fun to return to New York since I have a lot of experience playing on large courts, with crowds in stadiums, and when the camera is on you.
“That is OK with me. Everything is a learning experience for me. I’m taking full advantage of any opportunity that comes my way.”
Expectations for a Grand Slam winner are unavoidable, and Raducanu’s victory over Garcia in their lone prior meeting at Indian Wells in March gave fans optimism for their second-round encounter.
Garcia had promised to be aggressive and she kept her word, coming onto the court, particularly on Raducanu’s second serve, and attempting to seize control with her backhand. Garcia had come late from Germany, where she had won a tournament on grass the previous weekend.
The windy circumstances made it difficult for both players, and although Raducanu rallied after dropping the first two games, Garcia outhit him as the 28-year-old won three straight games. At 2-5, Raducanu’s deft second serve prevented a set point, but Garcia, who is ranked 55th and can be a shaky closer, made no errors on her own serve.
The second set began with Raducanu holding serve twice, but she immediately ran into difficulties when Garcia entered any rally because of Garcia’s better shot weight compared to that of her much younger rival.
The fans roared enthusiastically as Raducanu quickly recovered a break to tie the match at 3-3, but Garcia quickly regained the lead after a double fault and backhand that shanked into the tramlines, and she continued to pull away to win.
The awareness that Raducanu will have several opportunities to compete for Wimbledon’s later rounds in the future must be used to temper disappointment, and her attention is now turning to competing on American hard-courts.
Regarding her debut appearance on Centre Court, Garcia remarked, “I was really ready for this match. Emma is a big player, and she showed in her home event that she can perform well on a large platform. Of course, it’s a wonderful memory for me and it’s fair that they support Emma.