Neither a five-minute stoppage caused by the Red Arrows sending shockwaves from above, nor a troubling slip which left her thigh strapped with tape in an injury scare, could deny Emma Raducanu in the first match of her double-header day at Queen’s.
The British No 1 had already spent much of this quarter-final looking towards the skies, thanks to Kamilla Rakhimova’s fondness for lobs, when at 2-2 and 40-0, Raducanu was unable to serve.
The reason was seven plane-related stoppages in a row, culminating in the Red Arrows flying by and from Buckingham Palace in celebration of Trooping the Colour.
Raducanu saw the lighthearted side to the stoppage, applauding when they finally flew by, though Rakhimova did not handle the disruption so well by losing the next 11 points in succession.
It was a slip from Raducanu at 6-3, 2-2 which appeared to invite Rakhimova back into this contest. The 23-year-old Brit asked for a medical timeout, and eventually returned to the Andy Murray Arena with heavy strapping around her left thigh.
She did not appear entirely comfortable, and had messaging coming back from her camp, telling her to ‘be brave’ and ‘you can do it’. At the same time, Rakhimova was becoming more vocal herself, celebrating points.
Emma Raducanu claimed an important straight-sets win to book her spot in the Queen’s semi-final later on Saturday
Earlier the British No 1 saw her clashed paused with the arrival of the Red Arrows overhead
Currently ranked 42nd in the world to Rakhimova’s 78th, Raducanu managed to overcome her injury and secure the match 6-3, 7-5.
Raducanu said afterwards that ‘adrenalin’ helped her through, adding: ‘It was tough to take that fall. On grass, these things can happen.’
This was only the start of Raducanu’s busy Saturday at Queen’s. She was squeezed out of the schedule set by the HSBC Championships organisers on Friday after Thursday turned into a washout due to the London rain.
She beat Rakhimova in her 12.30pm quarter-final, but will return to the Andy Murray Arena later in the day to face Iva Jovic – the 18-year-old of the United States, ranked 19th in the world – in the semi-finals.
Worrying scenes at the Andy Murray Arena saw Raducanu slip on the turf in west London
Her compatriot Katie Boulter is also through to the semi-finals, and will play Donna Vekic after her miraculous defeat of the number one seed Elena Rybakina.
While the hope of an all-British final is still some way from reality, their compatriots in the stands might be interested in one crumb of tennis history.
The last British woman to be crowned champion at Queen’s was Ann Jones, who won this title in 1969 and then, in that same year, won Wimbledon as well.
