Emma Raducanu returned to Andy Murray Arena for her second match in five hours with lingering doubts about her physical condition after slipping on the slick grass earlier in the day and hurting her left thigh. By the time she had launched herself into consecutive backhand and forehand down-the-line winners to snatch an early break, that concern had dissipated.
What followed was one of her very best matches as she dismantled the talented 18-year-old Iva Jovic 6-2, 6-2 in front of an ebullient home crowd to reach the final here.
“It means everything to be making the final here and to be making it at home in London,” Raducanu said. “I love London. It’s my home. It’s where I grew up. It’s everything to me. So to be receiving the amount of support that I do here, it’s very emotional, and yeah, I’m just really proud of myself.”
This is her third tour-level final, her first being the 2021 US Open and her second coming this year at the WTA 250 event in Cluj, where she lost heavily to Sorana Cirstea. With wins over world No 18 Cirstea and No 19 Jovic here in consecutive days, at a 500 Event, this is the third time she has defeated two top 20 opponents in a tournament. She is yet to drop a set.
The quality of her play has been even more impressive than the wins. After another tough defeat in Melbourne in January, Raducanu said her aim was to just “hit the ball to the corners and hard”. She played this way relentlessly from start to finish, striking the ball so early, cleanly and with authority, not hesitating with her forehand and even closing down the net confidently. She has not struck with this cleanliness since the US Open nearly five years ago.
“The whole week I have been playing really, really good tennis and the brand of tennis that I really want to play. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily the old Emma. I think it’s the new Emma, because you take all the lessons and experience, you know, all the different ups and downs, and you take everything. You understand a lot more what’s going on and what works for you. So I’d say, yeah, I’m back and better,” said Raducanu, smiling.
Her performances have been particularly striking considering what preceded this. Raducanu had lost six of her previous seven matches, her last win coming in March, in the middle of a miserable year that had been constantly disrupted by physical ailments. Her last showing, at the French Open, where she trailed 0-6, 1-4 before fighting to make the scoreline more respectable, was grim. If there was any surface and season where Raducanu was going to find her way again, though, it was always going to be on grass.
Considering how much doubt and tension often surrounds Raducanu, she naturally gains a lot from playing before a passionate home crowd. Moreover, the grass sits perfectly with her game. She moves much better on the surface than most, she enjoys the low bounce and the faster conditions imbue her strokes with slightly more oomph. Beyond those technical advantages, she is just so confident on the grass.
This was a match-up between two very similar players. Both of them are offensive players with sweet two-handed backhands who thrive on taking the ball early and redirecting pace off both wings. They also strike the ball with tidy, smooth technique but they can also be overpowered by stronger players. This match rested entirely on who could consistently dictate.
Raducanu was levels above one of the most talented youngsters in the game. She burst into the match desperate to take the initiative and she played brilliantly, pounding the ball off both wings and changing directions. Her backhand was particularly sublime. She raced to a 4-1 lead and continued her offensive barrage even after Jovic took a medical timeout midway through the first set.
There were still numerous moments when Raducanu’s momentum could have been snapped, such as when she lost her serve for the first time at 2-0 or faced a total of four break points at 3-1 and 4-2. Every time she was under pressure, Raducanu found a precise first serve or trusted herself to step inside the baseline and press hard until the point was hers.
Raducanu’s quest for a second title will take her face-to-face with Donna Vekic, a Croatian veteran who despite her status as a lucky loser ranked No 76 is also an accomplished player who thrives on grass. A Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2024, she reached a career-high ranking of No 17 last year.
Earlier in the day, everything had seemed to be progressing perfectly for Raducanu. The British No 1 was leading 6-3, 3-1 in her quarter-final against Kamilla Rakhimova. Then, out of nowhere, she slipped on the slick grass.
Raducanu emerged from her fall wincing and clutching her left thigh, clearly in pain, and as her lead evaporated a victory began to look in serious doubt. However, Raducanu impressively dug deep and held her nerve to drag herself into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over the Uzbekistani lucky loser.
“I think it’s amazing what adrenaline and support can do, and the mind as well,” Raducanu said of her thigh issue. “So right now I still have to kind of assess, but yeah, I know we’re going to do everything we possibly can for one more tomorrow.”
Vekic reached the final with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 victory over the British No 3, Katie Boulter, who had little energy left less than 24 hours after defeating the world No 2, Elena Rybakina, in a dramatic three-set match, the biggest victory of her career.
