Emma Raducanu produced another impressive win as she beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-2 in the second round at Queen’s.
The British No. 1 was met with huge cheers as she served out the match in front of a packed Andy Murray Arena for her second consecutive victory on grass.
The win is her first over a top-20 player in over a year and means she will face Kamilla Rakhimova in a quarter-final clash later today.
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Both Tim Henman and Laura Robson believe Emma Raducanu reuniting with her former coach who helped her win the US Open, Andrew Richardson, is a good move.
Raducanu – enjoying a rich run of form since reuniting with former coach Andrew Richardson – got off to a blistering start, forcing two breaks in the first three games with some fierce forehands to take a commanding 4-0 lead, but the experienced Cirstea battled back and won three games on the bounce to put the pressure on her opponent.
The 2021 US Open champion made costly unforced errors to give the Romanian a chance for a third break at 4-5, but bounced back to win two straight points and serve out a hard-fought 50-minute first set.
She oozed confidence from then on, breaking in the first game of the second set – landing a brilliant deep forehand return to seal the game – and a second break at 3-1 proved the nail in Cirstea’s coffin.
Raducanu smiles as she celebrates winning a point
“It feels incredible to have come out and played like I did today against Sorana,” Raducanu told the BBC after the match.
“She is a player who has been in incredible form this year, had some fantastic wins, achieved a really high ranking.
“Earlier in the year she beat me but I’m really glad I could get her back at home too.
“I think I played at a really high level – I knew I had to play Sorana. I had to go out there and play aggressively and dictate because if I didn’t, I knew she would.
“Right from the start I put a really good game on the pitch and I’m really happy that I can play another game here.”
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Tennis stars such as Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff and Cameron Norrie took part in a fun World Cup warm-up, each drawing a random national flag to decide which team they will support.
Raducanu now faces the daunting task of winning another match on the same day – but she is relishing the challenge in front of her home crowd.
“It’s not something I’ve done too often, especially not playing in such a big arena – it’s emotional!
“I just have to do the best I can to recover – but I’m really proud of the performance I just put in today.”
Boulter sets up Rybakina’s quarter-final clash with victory over Cristian
Boulter is through to her 15th WTA quarter-final – and number eight on grass
British No 2 Katie Boulter made quick work of Jacqueline Cristian as she breezed past her opponent 6-1 6-3 to set up a blockbuster showdown with No 1 seed Elena Rybakina.
Boulter looked fine in her first round match against Leylah Fernandez and continued where she left off with another impressive win, needing just one hour and seven minutes to beat the Romanian.
“I love the grass,” Boulter said. “I’ve been here since I was a little girl and I love it here.
“It’s so great. I think when I play on the grass I feel very comfortable and I think for me it’s about just committing to my shots.
“You can’t ease your way into it. You’re just going to have to commit and see what comes up.”
Boulter is reaching her 15th career WTA quarter-final – eight of which have come on grass – and joins compatriot Raducanu in the business end of the competition, but faces a tough task against former Wimbledon champion Rybakina later today.
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