Paris: Emma Raducanu easily defeated Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2 to go to the third round of the women’s singles at the home Grand Slam, while Emma Navarro, who shares her name, defeated former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-1 on Center Court at Wimbledon. Raducanu dropped only three games throughout the day as he and his partner took full use of their opportunities to dominate their opponents.
The second-largest court at Wimbledon, No. 1 Court, hosted the match between Raducanu and Mertens, which was played under a covered roof. Raducanu was born in Toronto, Canada, twenty-one years ago. When she was two years old, her family relocated to England. She rose through the British tennis levels before becoming well-known when she won the US Open as a youngster. She was at her best against Mertens on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, Navarro defeated Japan’s Osaka in only 59 minutes, winning four Grand Slam titles. Navarro never encountered a breaking point throughout the match in her debut on Center Court.
Navarro must defeat the fierce Diana Shnaider in the third round in order to advance to the Grand Slam Round of 16. In only 49 minutes on Wednesday, the 20-year-old Shnaider easily defeated 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-1.
Shnaider has defeated Navarro twice already this year, most notably in the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg tournament last week. Shnaider is now rated a career-high No. 30, having won her second championship of the year in that grass-court tournament.
In the first six games of Wednesday’s match, Navarro and Osaka had little problem on the serve. However, at 3-3, Osaka made four consecutive unintentional mistakes, giving Navarro a love break. Navarro scored 10 points in a row at one point, but she had to endure a deuce game in order to secure the 5-3 advantage.
On serve, Osaka rapidly rallied, breaking through a love hold to compel Navarro to serve out the set. The American proved she was up to the challenge, winning the ninth game of the set with a fierce forehand that earned her set point.
In the first game of the second set, Navarro’s miscued drop volley offered her a break point. She seized the opportunity, slicing a groundstroke to force a mistake from Osaka and grab the lead early.
From there, Navarro sailed home, ending Osaka’s five-year hiatus from Wimbledon as a new mother. With only five unintentional mistakes against 16 wins, Navarro emerged victorious from the match.
