Before the final game, Emma Raducanu stood on the baseline in the evening sun as Centre Court gave one last prolonged howl of encouragement. It was offered without expectation – Caroline Garcia had already proven her dominance and her 6-3, 6-3 victory was sealed a few moments later – but was a welcome expression of support for a young player visibly struggling with her game.
A year on since her surge from anonymity to Wimbledon’s fourth round, with a US Open title in between, this second-round exit could easily be interpreted as Raducanu regression. Her serve was about the only part of her game flowing as the forehand chose unpredictable trajectories and her usually pinpoint backhand was no more consistent. The glimpses of magic, reaching impossible balls and returning them with feeling, roused a partisan crowd but were too fleeting to reverse the momentum. Service holds had to be hard earned, and when points descended into baseline slugfests Garcia’s superior power won out.
