Emma Raducanu celebrates new British No 1 status by saving home blushes at Queen’s

Raducanu progressed to the quarter-finals with an assured performance while Katie Boulter and Heather Watson crashed out at the second-round stage

No wonder Emma Raducanu started off her second-round contest at Queen’s in a blaze of glory. Like a firecracker, ready to ignite, eager to land in Friday’s quarter-finals.

A few hours earlier, the 22-year-old learned that, when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday, she will be back as British No 1. Raducanu will replace Katie Boulter, her “BoulterCanu” doubles partner this week, at the top of British women’s tennis. A blessing or a curse? Either way, it’s all just in time for all the hoopla and hype of Wimbledon in a few weeks.

Yet to Thursday and west London, where she still had matters to attend to on-court in the form of Slovak world No 41 Rebecca Sramkova, who is four places below her in the current world rankings. And, in essence, what the near sellout crowd were greeted to was a 76-minute sampler of what makes Raducanu such a thrilling prospect on the grass. Thrilling, and baffling, in somewhat equal measure.

Emma Raducanu was the only British winner in the second round at Queen’s (Getty for LTA)

The good? A scintillating opening 20 minutes, steamrolling to a 5-0 lead, middling every shot and taking authoritative control of every rally. There was, undoubtedly, oomph in her movement and persona. But, the bad? In an instant, she lost her mojo, was broken twice, and ultimately only squeezed to the first-set finish line. It was the sort of 15-minute blip she can ill-afford if she wants to make progress deep in tournaments this summer. Fortunately, the second set was more routine as Sramkova lost her way, and a 6-4 6-1 victory in the end was just reward for a lightning quick start.

“Long live BoulterCanu,” she wrote on the courtside camera, a nod to her doubles partnership this week and a close-knit group of British women at the top of the game currently.

“It’s nice, but it’s not the most important thing for me,” she said afterwards, questioned about the No 1 spot. “Having Katie in front, it was nice having something to chase. She now has that. We have a healthy competition between us, but we want to see each other do well.”

Up until that point, it had been a tough day for the Brits on day four. Boulter, who has held the British No 1 tag for exactly two years, started strongly against world No 10 Diana Shnaider by taking the opening set, describing it later as her “best tennis of the week”.

But the match quickly turned in the Russian’s favour, particularly after a brief rain break halfway through the second set. In the end, Shnaider romped home to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory to set up a clash with Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the last eight. Boulter, understandably for a match which seemed well within her grasp, was exasperated by the end.

Katie Boulter will surrender her place as British number one (PA)

Heather Watson also bowed out on Thursday (Getty for LTA)

Heather Watson soon followed, with the 33-year-old (now ranked 134 in the world) having come through qualifying to reach the main draw. The Guernsey local impressed in a straight-sets win over Yulia Putintseva on Tuesday but, with 123 places between them, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina was too strong in round two, progressing with a relatively routine 6-4, 6-2 win.

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Still, Watson can be proud of her efforts, as she keeps her fingers crossed for a Wimbledon wild card when they are announced by the AELTC next week. “I’m praying over here,” she admitted afterwards. “It would be a gift.”

It was therefore up to Raducanu, the last Brit standing, to keep home hopes alive. Swinging from the hip like someone who had a looming dinner reservation in Kensington tonight, she grabbed the initiative impressively, against a player in Sramkova who beat defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first round.

Raducanu had too much for Slovak opponent Rebecca Sramkova (Getty for LTA)

Three breaks in a row were accompanied by regular “Come on!” screams towards her box, with Mark Petchey and Nick Cavaday her dual coaches in her corner. Annabel Croft, on commentary for the BBC, described her start as “breathtaking”.

Yet a stunning opening 20 minutes was followed by a curiously inconsistent 15 minutes, in which she let two breaks of serve slip and errors entered her realm. Mercifully, she held at 5-4 to claim the opener.

The second set was more a case of remaining solid while Sramkova crumbled; the Slovak regularly gesticulating towards her corner and, by the end, her head was literally in her hands after a routine miss. Two powerful backhand returns sealed the deal for Raducanu, to the delight of the home crowd on the Andy Murray Arena.

It means Raducanu will be back on Friday, likely to take on first seed Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals. Now that, an Olympic champion and world No 5, will be a serious – and perfect – test of her grass court credentials, just two weeks out from Wimbledon.