Aiming for a Wimbledon upset, Raducanu faces challenging match with head held high

Emma Raducanu isn't expecting a lot from her Wimbledon run due to who she will play in the opening round she admitted during media day at SW19.

Raducanu was in high spirits after a great couple of weeks in which she has reached the semi-finals in Nottingham and the Quarter-Finals in Eastbourne. Both times she has only been defeated by the eventual champion in Katie Boulter and Daria Kasatkina.

But first up in London will be Ekaterina Alexandrova who has supreme grass court prowess and is a multiple title winner on the surface. She will play second up on Centre Court tomorrow and will hope that the British faithful can help her towards victory. She sees it more as a scalp than a foregone conclusion and one that she is aiming for. This is despite admitting that she is firmly up against it in facing Alexandrova.

"If I get through my first round, I’d be over the moon. I think it’s a tough match. She’s seeded really well," Raducanu told Yahoo Sport. "It’s obviously going to be hard. I think that she’s got great weapons. On this surface, it only amplifies big weapons."

"I’m expecting a really difficult match. I think it’s a match where I’m actually the complete underdog because she’s a lot older, a lot more experienced, ranked a lot higher," Raducanu added. "I feel like it’s just a great opportunity to try to get a good scalp, try to enjoy playing how I have been in the last few weeks, and just get back into it."

"I’m very happy to be back here. I think I’ve missed this tournament so much. This year, coming back and practising, it reminded me a lot more," Raducanu concluded. 'I just feel very grateful to have the opportunity and the wild card to be able to compete here. I obviously have amazing memories from 2021. It’s an amazing place to be."