Texas ex, qualifier Lulu Sun pushes into Wimbledon quarterfinals with win over Raducanu

She had to win three qualifier matches just to enter the main draw, and that momentum has carried over for Texas ex Lulu Sun, who pushed her way into the women's singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon on Sunday with a hard-fought 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu.

Sun, who clinched Texas' 2021 NCAA championship win over Pepperdine, earned $480,000 in her first appearance on Wimbledon's fabled Centre Court — which more than doubled her career earnings — and earned her first quarterfinal appearance in a grand slam.

“Emma, it was a great match with her,” a tearful Sun told reporters after the match. "She really dug deep to try and get the win from me. I had to fight tooth and nail against her. I don’t even have the words right now.”

Sun, who finished with 51 winners, grew up watching Roger Federer’s Wimbledon matches on television and YouTube replays of epic battles between Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, who combined for 16 Wimbledon singles titles.

It’s been some story for the 23-year-old, who was born in Te Anau, a small town in South Island, New Zealand which is known to have more sheep and deer than people. Her family moved to Switzerland when she was five and later to Shanghai, China. These days the 2022 Texas grad splits time living in Florida and Slovakia.

She plays Donna Vekic on Tuesday in the next round.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas ex, qualifier Lulu Sun pushes into Wimbledon quarterfinals with win over Raducanu