Emma Raducanu came into Queen’s with low expectations, having struggled with recurring back spasms over the last few weeks. Adjusting from clay to grass, two wildly different surfaces, was going to be a further challenge.
In her first two matches neither of those appeared to trouble her: she looked imperious against Cristina Bucsa, an opponent who got the better of her in Singapore earlier this year, and said afterwards her back was “in good shape” for that match. She was on the front foot for three-quarters of her second-round encounter with Rebecca Sramkova, and motored through the closing stages.
