Emma Raducanu streamrolled Elise Mertens to move into the third round of Wimbledon – and then declared her excitement at playing mixed doubles with SirAndy Murray.
The 21-year-old delivered a ‘statement’ performance on Wednesday as she raced to a 6-1 6-2 victory against seasoned pro Elise Mertens in just 75 minutes.
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It is the first time Raducanu has gone beyond the second round of a Grand Slam since her stunning US Open triumph in 2021, when she stormed to glory as a qualifier.
And it was her first appearance on Court One since her breakthrough run to the fourth round at the All England Club three years ago.
Back then, the occasion was ultimately too much for the then teenager as he was forced to retire with breathing difficulties against Ajla Tomljanovic.
But having been beset by injuries since her stunning breakthrough – undergoing surgeries to both wrists and an ankle last year – she looks ready to make a serious impact on the sport once again.
Raducanu – currently 135th in the world – made a mockery of her low ranking as she claimed two breaks of serve against Mertens, who is 33 in the world, to close out the opening set in 38 minutes.
It was more of the same in the second set as she dropped just two more games to win in style.
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Her impressive win against Mertens came on the same day it was announced that Raducanu would play alongside Andy Murray in the mixed doubles at SW19.
Singles is very much the priority for Raducanu but she explained the opportunity to play with British tennis legend Murray was one she simply couldn’t pass up.
“My doubles record isn’t exactly the longest or most vast but I couldn’t say no. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Raducanu said.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a young girl, since watching the Olympics; Andy’s a hero to all of us.
“For me it’s a gift and an honour that he asked me; a moment that I could never say no to.
“I’m super excited to be on the mixed doubles court and I just hope that I can learn a thing or two about coming to the net!”
Asked how long it took her to accept Murray’s offer, she replied: “Literally like 10 seconds. For me, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I think some things are bigger than just tennis.
“At the end of my life, at the end of my career when I’m like 70 years old, I know I’m going to have that memory of playing Wimbledon with Andy Murray in a home slam. For me, it was an honour to be asked.”
Raducanu and Murray emerging victorious is something of a longshot but Raducanu’s performance in her singles clash suggests she will be a dangerous opponent for anyone with former British men’s No.1 Tim Henman describing the triumph over Mertens as a ‘statement win’.
Meanwhile, former British women’s No.1 Annabel Croft said: “Emma Raducanu is in the zone.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her hit the ball this well, this early and this confidently in the consistent way that she is doing.
“This is going to put a few frighteners through the women’s draw right now because there are not many players who can live with this level of ball striking and aggression.
“It is extraordinary, she is absolutely taking Elise Mertens apart out here.”
Raducanu next plays on Friday against ninth seed Maria Sakkari, who she defeated in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.
Raducanu will also be action on either Friday or Saturday with Murray in the mixed doubles, against El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai of China.
Murray revealed the pairing has been several years in the making after they played against each other in a Battle of the Brits event in 2020.
“We’d spoken about it a few years ago during the Covid year, but obviously both of us ended up doing quite well in singles so it didn’t happen,” he said.
“And then yesterday I was chatting to my team, they were discussing mixed and then last night I messaged her coach and just said, ‘Look, do you think this is something that maybe she’d be up for doing?’ He said it was worth asking. I asked her and she said yeah she’d be up for it.
“It should be fun. I have played mixed doubles a few times when I was young and then the last time was with Serena [Williams]. I really enjoyed it, it’s something we rarely get to do.
“And to get a chance to do it with Emma, well it’s my last chance to do it, so it should be good.”
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Raducanu has only played one tour-level doubles match in her career and this will be her grand slam debut in the format.
On her inexperience in doubles, Murray said: “She’s obviously unbelievably competitive and likes playing in the big stadiums and stuff with crowds so I expect she’ll deal with that really well,” he said.
“A lot of the skills from singles translate well to doubles. There’s a few things that are obviously a little bit different, particularly when you play against doubles players who are doing a lot of crossing, a lot of movement at the net, that’s something that takes a little time to get used to.
“But she’s a brilliant returner and great ball striker so I’d imagine she’ll deal with returning guys’ serves well. And, when she’s getting into exchanges at the back of the court, she’ll be really good.”