Emma Raducanu continued her Wimbledon campaign after beating former champion Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets.
Raducanu is under great pressure to perform at Wimbledon this year as a Grand Slam champion and the British number one.
However, the former US Open champion admitted her expectations were low coming into the tournament, with Raducanu dealing with an ongoing back injury.
This does not seem to have troubled her at Wimbledon so far, with Raducanu beating Mimi Xu and now Vondrousova.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesTracy Austin makes big claim about Emma Raducanu after Wimbledon victory
Vondrousova was seen as a dark horse for the Wimbledon title by some, with the Czech winning a title on the grass of Berlin just two weeks ago.
However, she was dispatched by Raducanu, who beat her in the second round of Wimbledon for the second time in her career.
In reaction to Raducanu’s 6-3 6-3 victory, former world number one Tracy Austin praised the 22-year-old for her performance.
Austin even went on to claim that she thought this was Raducanu’s best performance since winning the US Open in 2021.
“To me it’s very exciting to see Emma Raducanu who won the US Open as a qualifier and won those 10 matches without dropping a set and then so many ups and downs since then,” Austin said on the BBC. “Surgeries and injuries, getting back to playing and then another surgery.
“It has been very difficult to watch all the expectations on the teenager. But that was the best I have seen her play since the US Open. That was spectacular tennis.
“The serving was awesome, out wide on both courts to open up the court. Really picking on the Vondrousova forehand. But you have to hit it hard enough because if it’s not hit hard then she can start working you from side to side. Emma was accelerating her racket head speed and just getting enough top spin for control. Throwing in some backhand slices, I feel she has been using that more in the grass court season.
“I think Mark Petchey and the tactics he must have come up with, I am crediting him, and he’s just so smart. Emma had to employ them and the return of serve was phenomenal.
“We were seeing so often she was hitting the ball within six feet of the baseline so Vondrousova by the time she served, the ball was on her feet and she was having to back up, she was feeling rushed.”
Tracy Austin says if she thinks Emma Raducanu has a chance to beat Aryna Sabalenka
Things will not get much easier for Raducanu, as she will now play world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Marie Bouzkova to reach the third round of Wimbledon.
Despite Sabalenka being the favourite to beat Raducanu, Austin believes that the Briton has a chance to cause an upset against the Belarusian.
“I would say that she has a chance to beat Sabalenka,” claimed Austin. “I did Sabalenka’s first match. She looked good, didn’t look unbelievable. Tough two setter against Bouzkova today.
“If Emma plays that way, first of all Sabalenka has one of the biggest serves in women’s tennis but the way Emma returned today, the way she was seeing it out in front, she was hitting it early.
“If she can maintain that depth on her return, Sabalenka has big strokes on both sides, maybe she would be able to rush Sabalenka as well. Emma’s backhand slide to get down low to that forehand of Sabalenka because she has an extreme western grip.
“There are things Emma can do if she plays like she did today, her consistency and ability to move the ball to side to side, there are a lot of parts of Emma’s game which can bother Sabalenka.”
This will be the second time that Raducanu has played Sabalenka in her career, with their only previous meeting resulting in a straight sets victory for the latter at Indian Wells.
Raducanu will look to use the home crowd support when she plays Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon on Friday, July 4.