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Emma Raducanu overcame an injury scare in the second set of her quarter-final clash with Kamilla Rakhimova to book her spot in the Queen’s semi-final.
The British number one suffered a slip in the fifth game of the second set and took a medical timeout shortly after, returning to the court with a bandage around her thigh but, despite her levels noticeably dropping following the fall, Raducanu managed to see out her encounter on the Andy Murray Arena 6-3 7-5 – yet to drop a set in the tournament.
Having been unable to play her quarter-final tie yesterday, she will be back in action on Andy Murray Arena on Saturday evening to take on American teenage sensation Iva Jovic in the semi-final.
“It was really tricky. Kamilla played some incredible tennis, got to a lot of balls and made it very difficult. It was a match of ups and downs, but I’m just so grateful for the support in some really tough moments and for closing out that second set.
“Right now, it is mixed with adrenaline. It was tough to take that fall. I feel I was in a pretty good spot in the match but on grass, these things can happen. I found it tough to regroup but I’m really proud of how I did that in the end with the help of you guys [the crowd], so thank you.”
After breaking each other’s serves in the opening three games, Raducanu took control of the first set after play was interrupted in unusual style for the King’s Birthday Flypast, which saw the Red Arrows fly over the west London club.
Following a number of delays to her serve – 40-0 at the time – because of the noise of military aircraft, which included a special sight of the Red Arrows, the World Number 42 wrapped up her service game followed by breaking Rakhimova’s serve, eventually winning the first set 6-3.
Smiling at her box in the crowd after a number of points won in the opening set, Raducanu picked up where she left off in the second set with a break of service – but that quickly turned to concern later on.
Suffering a slip while attempting to change direction on the grass, the 23-year-old had to go off court for medical treatment and returned to the grass court with her left thigh heavily strapped up but she struggled to continue her momentum in the contest, losing her serve on the restart.
Supported by her coaching team, who could be heard shouting ‘be brave’ as Raducanu visibly struggled to regain focus, the 2021 US Open champion managed to break Rakhimova’s serve once again to lead 5-4, but the Briton failed to secure victory on her serve as her opponent fought back.
Backed by a packed-out home crowd in the Andy Murray Arena, Raducanu stepped up her game again to break Rakhimova for a second consecutive service game and secured her place in the semi-finals with her third match point.
