Emma Raducanu put up an absolutely outstanding performance today as the British tennis star demolished eight-time WTA champion Elise Mertens to reach the Wimbledon third round.
Raducanu, who entered this year’s Wimbledon via a wildcard, was expected to have a tough job against former world No. 12 Mertens, who twice in the past made the round-of-16 at The Championships. But it was an ideal day at the office for the 21-year-old Briton, who destroyed the Belgian with just three lost games 6-1 6-2 in an hour and 17 minutes of play.
Against Mertens, Raducanu delivered a clinical performance as the 2021 US Open champion hit 22 winners, broke the Belgian four times and also saved both break points she faced during the match.
Now, Raducanu is set to play against either No. 9 seed Maria Sakkari or Arantxa Rus in the Wimbledon third round.
How Raducanu ousted Mertens?
Raducanu came out firing, breaking Mertens in the second game before saving a break point in the following game to go 3-0 up. After Mertens failed to get the break back, Raducanu broke the Belgian again in the fourth game before serving out the following game to start the match on a run of five consecutive games won.
In the sixth game, Mertens…
