Emma Raducanu's match against seventh seed Sorana Cirstea is in major doubt at Queen's due to bad weather. The British tennis player's match is due to get under way at 11.30am in the first scheduled match in west London but with conditions looking poor and the forecast also not hopeful, proceedings may well be suspended.
The first three days of the tournament have been hit by weather issues; play was suspended last night as the grass courts became too slippery to play on. Donna Vekic's tie against Marie Bouzkova was halted as the Croatian led 6-5 in the first set.
Raducanu sailed through her opening-round match, winning 6-0 6-3 against Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova. Her season has been impacted by illness so far but with a first victory since March 6 under her belt, the 23-year-old says she is feeling good.
“I think it was a really good stepping stone,” said Raducanu. “And I think the way I was feeling on the court, the way I was moving, the way I was expressing myself, just the whole package, not necessarily the tennis, just how I kind of was acting on the court, I really enjoyed it. I think that’s something that I want to take forward in all of my matches and really embrace this grass court season.”
Raducanu added: “I was really pleased with how I came out and was playing very free. I think I was just feeding off of the atmosphere and it felt free, it felt clear and a lot of clarity. Not necessarily thinking too much, not trying to do too much. It felt very natural.”
Raducanu now faces world No.18 Cirstea as the first match on centre court today but proceedings are likely to be hit by suspensions as the weather makes an unwelcome intervention. Meanwhile, Katie Boulter has also progressed, beating eighth seed Leylah Fernandez 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5. That game was played over two days due to poor conditions in the English capital.
“I am really pleased with the way I came back today. I was a step slow last night and she was playing great,” she said. “I had to respond and it's really hard to sleep at night when you're in the middle of a match but I managed to get a few hours and I am really pleased how I managed to turn it around.”
