Wimbledon 2021: Britain's Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie and Emma Raducanu advance
- Published
Dan Evans is into the third round at Wimbledon for a third time
Wimbledon 2021 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 28 June-11 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full details here |
British number one Dan Evans eased into the Wimbledon third round as compatriot Cameron Norrie produced a gutsy first-round win.
Evans beat Dusan Lajovic 6-3 6-3 6-4, after Norrie had demonstrated his superb form in beating France's Lucas Pouille 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 6-2 7-5.
He had trailed Pouille by a set when their first-round match was suspended on rain-plagued Tuesday.
British teenager Emma Raducanu also advanced to the second round.
Eighteen-year-old wildcard Raducanu, making her Grand Slam main-draw debut, beat Russia's Vitalia Diatchenko 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 in the first round.
However, Katie Boulter and Liam Broady are out.
Despite a fine effort, Boulter could not join her compatriots in victory. Making her Centre Court debut, she won the first set against second seed Aryna Sabalenka but was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the second round of the women's singles.
Broady won the first set against ninth seed Diego Schwartzman but the Argentine triumphed 4-6 6-2 6-1 6-4.
Evans and Norrie advance
Evans, 31, reached the Wimbledon third round for the third time - equalling his best result at the All England Club - as he comfortably dispatched Serbia's Lajovic.
He admitted to nerves before the "occasion" on Court One but his impressive display said otherwise, winning four successive games en route to winning the first set.
The second largely went with serve until Evans sent a backhand down the line to move 4-3 ahead.
He twice broke Lajovic's serve in a four-game winning streak in the third and ultimately final set, before losing his own service game when he had the opportunity to wrap up the match.
He squandered two match points on Lajovic's serve before eventually holding for the win. He will face American Sebastian Korda in the third round.
"It got a bit nervy towards the end but I came through," Evans said.
"It was difficult. I was a little nervous and it showed a little in the tight moments. It was about coming through."
Norrie beats Pouille in first round - best shots
One round behind him is 25-year-old Norrie, who reached the Queen's final last weekend and showed his confidence again on the SW19 grass, where he is the 29th seed.
Darkness had stopped his opener on Tuesday but Norrie returned to court on Wednesday and took the first of three match points when Pouille pushed a forehand wide, leading to joyous celebrations from the home crowd as he won a Wimbledon match for only the second time in his career.
While the casual British tennis fan might not have previously known much about Norrie, his remarkable form on the ATP Tour this year has made them take note.
Beating Pouille, a former world number 10 and 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist, was Norrie's 30th match win of the season, meaning only Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas and Russia's Andrey Rublev have recorded more.
Norrie faces Australian wildcard Alex Bolt next as the Briton looks to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the fourth successive tournament.
Wildcard Raducanu through but Boulter exits
Raducanu has long been touted as a future star of British tennis and she demonstrated her talent in her victory over qualifier Diatchenko.
Diatchenko is ranked more than 200 place higher than Raducanu and raced into a 4-1 lead, only for the Briton to win 10 of the next 11 games.
Raducanu is now the only Briton left in the women's singles draw and will play former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova in the second round.
"I had my final A-level examinations in April, so I was actually sitting for an exam two months ago," said Raducanu. "So now to be here at Wimbledon is unbelievable, it's surreal."
For Boulter, the 2021 tournament marked a long-awaited return to Wimbledon after three years away, a stress fracture in her back keeping her on the sidelines before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Wimbledon 2021: Katie Boulter almost stuns Aryna Sabalenka - highlights
Buoyed by the home crowd on Centre Court, she broke world number four Sabalenka's serve in the opening game, only for the Belarusian to break back immediately.
World number 214 Boulter then failed to convert two more break points before finally gaining the crucial advantage in the seventh game, going on to comfortably take the set.
Sabalenka, who showed signs of frustration as she fell behind, restored parity in the second and broke early in the deciding set.
Boulter then received medical treatment on her already heavily strapped elbow, before returning to court and breaking Sabalenka to love, only to have her own serve broken in the next game.
Sabalenka went on to save six break points to hold at 5-3 before Boulter conceded with a backhand slammed into the net, sending the Belarusian into the Wimbledon third round for the first time.
Elsewhere in the women's singles, British wildcard Samantha Murray Sharan lost 6-3 6-3 to Romania's Sorana Cirstea in their delayed first-round match.
Murray Sharan, 33, last played in the Wimbledon main draw in 2014 and, although the world number 230 acquitted herself well, she could not reach the second round for the first time on her third attempt.
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