Raducanu through as Kartal sets up Gauff meeting
Emma Raducanu cruised past Belgium’s Elise Mertens to join fellow Briton Sonay Kartal in the Wimbledon third round.
Former British number one Raducanu, given a wildcard in her return to the Championships, struck the ball confidently and clinically in a 6-1 6-2 win.
Raducanu’s victory came a couple of hours after 22-year-old qualifier Kartal produced the biggest win of her career to beat France’s Clara Burel in three sets.
Kartal, ranked 298th in the world, won 6-3 5-7 6-3 to become the first home player to reach the Wimbledon third round this year.
She will face US Open champion Coco Gauff after the American’s 6-2 6-1Â win over Anca Todoni.
If Raducanu’s first-round win was all about “winning ugly”, her dominant victory over 33rd-ranked Mertens was a thing of beauty.
The 21-year-old’s clean ball-striking was a marked improvement from the three-set win over Mexican lucky loser Renata Zarazua.
Raducanu produced a nervy return and a double fault in the opening two points of the match but quickly settled down to assert her authority.
She raced through the opening set to the delight of the home fans on Court One and maintained her level in an equally impressive second set.
Raducanu will play Greek ninth seed Maria Sakkari or Dutch veteran Arantxa Rus in the last 16 on Friday.
A memorable week for Kartal continued as she became the second British woman to reach the third round as a qualifier in the Open era, and the first since Karen Cross in 1997.
Kartal previously said she thought she would not be able to take to the tennis court for the rest of this year after a serious health scare, but recovered to come through qualifying.
The Brighton-born player powered through the first set and led by a break in the second. However, Burel – ranked 253 places above Kartal – fought back to force a decider, her confidence rising as she unleashed some brilliant backhand passes.
Kartal composed herself and broke in the fifth game of the final set when a forehand clipped the net cord and landed on Burel’s side, with a volley sealing another break and the victory.
“Today is a really special day for me,” Kartal said. “Monday was a high but I’ve topped that today.”
Meanwhile, compatriot Dan Evans has been beaten in straight sets by 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo of Chile.
The 34-year-old Briton was defeated 6-2 7-5 6-3 on a packed court 12.
Evans, ranked 60 in the world, wore heavy strapping on his knee as he has been recovering from an injury in order to compete at SW19.
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Defending champion Alcaraz beats Vukic
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz entertained fans on Court One with a stunning second-round victory over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic.
The pair played out a thrilling topsy-turvy opening set before the Spaniard took control and wrapped up a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-2 victory.
Alcaraz is attempting to win back-to-back major titles after triumphing at the French Open last month.
“I’m really happy about my performance today,” the 21-year-old said.
“The first set was the key for me to pull out all the nerves. It was really close.”
After coming through a five-setter against Sebastian Ofner in the first round, Vukic appeared fatigued and trailed 5-2 against Alcaraz in the first set.
However, he soon sparked to life, dealing with the three-time major winner’s mix of crafty drop shots and powerful ground strokes to win successive breaks and force a tie-break.
It looked like he would make another comeback in the tie-break, scrapping his way back from 5-1 down to 5-4.
But Alcaraz stepped up the intensity to take the opener before dominating in the final two sets.
The world number three will face American 29th seed Frances Tiafoe, who he defeated in the semi-finals en route to his US Open win in 2022.
“We played a really good match in the US Open. I know that he is a really talented player, he is even tougher here on grass with his style,” said Alcaraz.
“It’s going to be a really difficult match for me but I’m ready to take that challenge, I’m ready to play a really high level of tennis.”
Tiafoe made it into the third round with a 7-6(5) 6-1 6-3 win against Croatia’s Borna Coric.
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Medvedev fights back in gruelling win
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Daniil Medvedev fought back from a set and a break down to defeat Frenchman Alexandre Muller.
The Russian fifth seed won 6-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 7-5 after three hours and 28 minutes on Centre Court.
“It was never easy but I managed to stay solid, stay in the match, try to fight back,” said 28-year-old Medvedev.
“I’m definitely happy with the win – I should have played much better but when you win, there is the next round to do better.”
Medvedev, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, will face Chinese 32nd seed Zhang Zhizhen or Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round.
Eighth seed Casper Ruud fell to a 6-4 7-5 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 defeat by world number 94 Fabio Fognini of Italy.
It is the third year in a row that Norway’s Ruud, who prefers clay and hard-court surfaces to grass, has lost in the second round at Wimbledon.
Credit: bbc.com
