It was a super Saturday for Emma Raducanu at the LTA’s HSBC Championships as she became the first British woman to reach the final at Queen’s Club for 56 years.
The 23-year-old was in scintillating form as she downed Iva Jovic 6-2 6-2 in the semi-final in front of a raucous Andy Murray Arena.
The British No. 1 was tasked with coming through two matches in a day to reach the Queen’s Club showpiece after heavy rain earlier in the week condensed the playing schedule.
And having cruised past Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 7-5 in the quarter-finals despite needing a medical time-out which saw her return with a heavily-bandaged left thigh, Raducanu showed no signs of discomfort against the highly-rated American teenager and made it through to her first-ever grass court final.
“It means everything to be doing it here at Queen’s in front of everyone,” said Raducanu after reaching her first-ever grass-court final. “The support today for the whole day was electric. If you ask any player, especially any Brit, they would love to lift the title here.
“This week has been incredible. I’ve really enjoyed playing here, and I think that really shows in my tennis and how I’ve been able to compete and stick out some really tough moments. It means everything to be making it through to Sunday.”
Ann Jones was the last British female winner at Queen’s in 1969, with Winnie Shaw the most recent finalist the following year.
The women’s draw was not part of the programme between 1974 and 2024 but Donna Vekic is now all that stands between Raducanu and following in Jones’ footsteps.
Jovic, who required a medical time-out herself for an ankle problem with the score at 4-1, struggled to cope with Raducanu’s shot selection as once again the Brit’s forehand proved to be a major weapon.
And having required three attempts to secure her first break of serve in the fourth game, Raducanu only needed to be asked once in the eighth game as she took the first set.
The crucial moment in the match came in the second set when down 0-40 in the fifth game, Jovic, ranked 19th in the world, failed to convert three break points as Raducanu moved into a 4-1 lead. From there, she saw out the game in style.
Hopes of an all-British final were dashed, however, as Vekic brought Katie Boulter’s impressive run to a shuddering halt at the semi-final stage.
Boulter was making her first last-four appearance at Queen’s but failed to replicate the magic that saw her battle past world No.2 Elena Rybakina on Friday, with her Croatian opponent cruising to a 6-1 6-3 win in just 66 minutes.
The world No 73 has taken a lot from this week, however, and remains confident about the remainder of the grass court season.
“I am not supposed to make the semi-finals of this tournament,” said Boulter. “This competition had an incredible line-up.
“My game is moving in the right direction. This week has been a great learning curve for me. It has given me a lot of belief knowing that I can beat a lot of good players on this surface. Wimbledon is another opportunity to do that.”
For the latest updates on the British summer grass court season, visit the LTA website, lta.org.uk
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