Emma Raducanu made a winning return to Wimbledon with a victory over Renata Zarazúa.
The 21-year-old was due to face 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova but after she pulled out due to illness, she was replaced with the lucky loser from Mexico.
Centre Court was firmly behind the former British number one, who played her first match at the All-England Club since 2022.
She received a standing ovation after claiming a 7-6(0), 6-3 victory, but it was anything but straightforward for the 2021 US Open champion.
Emma Raducanu books her spot in round two at Wimbledon
Raducanu took full advantage of her good fortune when taking on Zarazúa, who has never won a tour-level match on grass.
She was also making her main draw debut at Wimbledon, whereas her originally scheduled opponent Alexandrova made the fourth round in 2023.
The former World number 11 came through in straight sets but she admitted having difficulty playing against the solid baseline player.
“It was an incredibly difficult match. I think I rarely if ever played a defender who has literally landed the ball on the baseline or just kept getting the ball back,” Raducanu said post-match. “It took a lot of strength to get over the line.
“It’s amazing to play an opponent such as Renata. It’s not easy in the morning when you’re not in the draw and then suddenly you’re playing on Centre Court so all props to her and thanks to everyone for helping me get through.”
Emma Raducanu drew motivation from England at Euro 2024
Raducanu opened her Wimbledon campaign the day after England came from behind to defeat Slovakia 2-1 and progress to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.
The Three Lions were a minute away from being eliminated before Jude Bellingham’s stunning overhead kick in stoppage time levelled the score, before Harry Kane scored the winning goal in extra time.
During her on-court interview after winning her match, Raducanu said England’s comeback helped motivate and inspire her when she took to Centre Court on Monday.
“The people I was watching with were like, ‘I don’t know’. It was getting to the 93rd minute. (I said), ‘I have a feeling, I have a feeling’. Then Jude (Bellingham) hit that insane goal,” she said.
“When I’m watching, I’m listening to the commentary, I can almost picture it. It’s just the way the story flips, depending on how the result is going.
“Today I used it as motivation. It doesn’t need to be beautiful, it doesn’t need to be perfect. As long as you get through the opening rounds, you give yourself another chance to play better.”
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