- The 22-year-old secured her win against the Slovakian 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday
Emma Raducanu showed the best of the form that has seen her wrestle back the British No1 ranking from Katie Boulter as she beat Rebecca Smrakova 6-4, 6-1 to book her spot in the Queen’s quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old earned the honour in a roundabout way – with Boulter dropping her Nottingham points a week early due to Queen’s new spot in the schedule – but at her strongest on Thursday afternoon made a compelling case for why she is back at the top two years on from losing the ranking.
After her runaway win against Cristina Bucsa on Tuesday afternoon, Raducanu had spoken about her belief that at her best she plays with personality and can express herself on the court. Against Smrakova, the former US Open winner imposed herself quickly and showed exactly how dangerous she can be when fit and firing.
It took fewer than 25 minutes for Raducanu to blaze a trail through the opening five games, playing as if subject to different restrictions on time than her opponent. Raducanu and Smrakova are separated by just four places in the world rankings, but as the former dished out superb hitting on both wings, it could have been forty-four.
But serving for the set, Raducanu appeared to look too desperate for the finish line, too keen to beat the clock and secure the set faster than she had against Bucsa. Capitalising on Raducanu’s loss of focus, Smrakova only had to defend cleanly and wait for her opponent to overcook a would-be winner.
In front of an increasingly subdued crowd, disbelieving perhaps that they were watching the same player who had been toying with the Slovakian minutes earlier, Smrakova won the next three games and forced Raducanu to wrench the match back on her own serve.
Emma Raducanu booked her spot in the quarter-finals at Queen’s on Thursday afternoon
The 22-year-old was moving well as blasted her way to a five-game lead in the first set
Rebecca Sramkova was unable to harness her best tennis and was quickly overrun by the star
After the break, it appeared to be a return to regular programming as Raducanu broke Smrakova at pace, back in full control of her game and the match’s tempo.
For a player who has been outspoken about continuing to manage a recurrent back issue, another remarkable aspect about Raducanu’s tournament so far has been her movement, with Smrakova’s attempts to drop shot her opponent often coming at a punishing price.
And there are other aspects to her movement that require scrutiny. As well as looking free on the court, Raducanu, even in the face of her first-set hiccup looks, well, free. After smiling her way through doubles with Boulter earlier in the weak, there has been a similar lightness in her singles game.
The conditions this week are more than favourable: with Nick Cavaday’s return to her coaching team alongside Mark Petchey, and the roar of an adoring home crowd, this is as gentle a start to her grass-court campaign as Raducanu could hope for. But the player is rising to the occasion, and she will be looking forward to her quarter-final with relish.
