Emma Raducanu is into the third round! (2024)

• Emotional tributes to British icon Andy Murray on Centre Court
• Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy beaten in doubles first round
• He lost against Peers/Hijikata alongside brother Jamie at SW19
• Swiatek, Djokovic win; USA's Keys, Shelton, Collins, Fritz progress
• Watch on the BBC in the UK, ESPN and ABC in the US

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There it is!

Emma Raducanu has thrashed Elise Mertens, 6-1, 6-2.

She is into the third round of the ladies' singles at Wimbledon.

And don't the British-dominated crowd on Court One love it.

Emma Raducanu has broken Elise Mertens again and is serving for the match at 5-2 up in the second set.

Meanwhile, American Emma Navarro has broken Naomi Osaka twice in the second set and leads 4-1, serving to make it 5-1.

In the men's singles:

• Kei Nishikori, pictured - rarely for him - lost a five-setter against Arthur Rinderknech, who won 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2
• David Goffin, who replaced Andy Murray - who had pulled out due to injury - was two sets up on Tomas Machac, but Machac fought back to win 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(5).
• There were five-set wins for Lucas Pouille against Laslo Djere (3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1) and Emil Ruusuvuori against American Mackenzie McDonald (7-6(6), 4-6, 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3) too.

And in the women's singles, American Danielle Collins (11) beat Clara Tauson 6-3, 7-6(4).

Raducanu breaks Mertens again, and at 2-1, is wasting no time as she serves to make it 3-1.

A stinging double-handed backhand down the line goes unreturned and a big serve elicits a wayward return, too.

3-1 in the second and if she holds serve for the rest of the set she'll be into the third round.

American 19th seed Emma Navarro has taken the first set, 6-4, against Naomi Osaka.

And Navarro is a break up in the second, too, going 1-0 ahead after Osaka netted on break point.

Dangerous times for Naomi.

... Raducanu Ridge? Raducanu Rise? Raducanu Ramp?

In any case, fans are packed onto what's often referred to as Henman Hill to watch Emma.

Though spirits (and turf) have been slightly dampened by the downpour.

In the women's singles, American Sloane Stephens trails Diana Shnaider 1-6, 0-2, though - like all but two matches currently - that is suspended due to rain.

In the men's singles, Tommy Paul (12) of the USA trails Otto Virtanen 5-4 in the third set, and is a game away from going two sets to one down.

And in the men's doubles, Germans Jebens/Frantzen earlier beat Rodriguez/Kotov 7-6(3), 7-6(3).

Darn.

Rain coming down, covers on, only two matches ongoing:

Naomi Osaka, pictured, vs American Emma Navarro (19) on Centre Court, and Emma Raducanu vs Elise Mertens on Court 1.

A hold each from 4-0 sees Raducanu at 5-1 up against Mertens and serving for the first set on Court 1.

30-all and a rare moment of tension for the 21-year-old. And she slides one long! 30-40 and Mertens' second break point of the set.

Mertens forces her beyond the baseline with some powerful hitting then pulls out the drop shot, Raducanu races forward, gets there... and whips it down the line for deuce!

Advantage, and a big serve sees Mertens' return loop comfortably wide. 6-1, first set. Great start.

While Court 18, with its steep banks of seats, has theatre-style curtains denying passers-by the chance to peer in.

There, Czech Linda Noskova (26) has just been beaten by Canadian Bianca Andreescu, 6-3, 7-6(5).

A reminder: you can read Andreescu's fantastic interview with the superb Matthew Futterman, of this parish, below.

Up next on 18 is Zhu Lin vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

People two abreast or so in queueing to crane their necks onto the grass in the gaps-cum-viewing-panels at the side of Court 14.

There, 23rd seed Alexander Bublik is two sets up on Arthur Cazaux, 6-4, 7-6(1), 3-2 on serve in the third.

In the women's singles, Russian Diana Shnaider has just taken the first set 6-1 against American Sloane Stephens.

In the men's singles, 12th seed Tommy Paul of the USA has fought back to take the second set 6-3 against Otto Virtanen. It's 3-3 on serve in the third.

Plus, Daniil Medvedev (5) has won in four sets against Alexandre Muller of France. 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-5, in a tense arm-wrestle.

Let's go, Emma!

Raducanu has two break points at 15-40 on Mertens' serve, one saved...

But she unleashes a sumptuous passing winner with a cross-court forehand to grab the double break at the second opportunity!

Some touch.

It's not been completely all Raducanu's way so far.

It took her third break point to get past Mertens in the second game, and the Belgian had break point on the Brit in the third too, before Raducanu eventually held.

Gasps and cheers from those watching Emma on the big screen. Not me though, I was hurried along by a stern-faced steward.

Brit Emma Raducanu is on fire on Court 1.

She's 3-0 up, with an early break against Belgian Elise Mertens.

That little courtside pause after three games means the few stragglers still waiting to get in who missed the very start can shuffle to their seats.

As one of the British tennis hopes takes to Court 1, one Brit has just been knocked out on the men's side.

Dan Evans' tough season continues as he has been beaten in straight sets (6-2, 7-5, 6-3) by 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo. Evans was playing with heavy strapping on his right knee after a recent injury and didn't look himself against a tough opponent.

As for his Chilean opponent, a third-round meeting with 22-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli awaits.

On a warm, muggy morning last summer, Bianca Andreescu sat cross-legged on a couch in a sprawling home in Washington, D.C., talking about everything she had thought about during her time away from tennis.

While she nursed her injuries and struggled with her mental relationship with the sport to which she has dedicated her life, the star from Canada had gone on a spiritual and yoga retreat in Costa Rica, where few had any idea she was a tennis player and even fewer cared.

Then, a stress fracture in her back that would sideline her for nine months — the latest in a string of bad-luck ailments that have threatened the career of a woman widely seen as a generational talent. If only she could just stay healthy.

“It sucked,” Andreescu said of that latest calamity, one evening in Paris last month. And then, once more, she was back to trying to make her glass half-full. “The more I get injured, the more I learn about myself and the more I find tools to help me recover faster and get better quicker.”

Read more with The Athletic's interview below.

Some updates from the men's singles:

• American Tommy Paul (12) has just lost the first set 6-4 against Otto Virtanen, but leads 2-1 on serve in the second
• Alexander Bublik (23) leads Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 4-4
• Ugo Humbert (16) has beaten the conqueror of Brit Liam Broady, Botic van der Zandschulp, 7-6(9), 6-1, 6-3
• And Karen Khachanov (21) has won, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(11), 2-0, against Aslan Karatsev, who was unable to finish the match

In the women's singles:

• Elina Svitolina (21) has beaten Magda Linette 7-5, 6-7(9), 6-3
• Barbora Krejcikova (31) beat Veronika Kudermetova 7-6(4), 6-7(10), 7-5

While in the men's doubles, Germans Putz/Krawietz (8) beat Romboli/Darderi 6-4, 6-2.