By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) -When Emma Raducanu nonchalantly flicked a lob that appeared to be drifting long before it dropped inches inside the baseline to earn her a break and a hollering ovation from the Wimbledon crowd, Maria Sakkari must have known this was not going to be her day.
So it proved to be as Britain's only female singles Grand Slam champion in 47 years was roared on to a 6-2 6-3 third round victory over the Greek ninth seed under a closed Centre Court roof on a soggy Friday.
Raducanu, who needed a wildcard invite from organisers to even compete at the grasscourt major as her ranking has plummeted to 135th after an injury plagued 2023, had beaten Sakkari the only previous time they had met - at the 2021 U.S. Open semi-finals.
Demonstrating a steely resolve and showing flashes of the brilliance that unexpectedly carried her to the 2021 Flushing Meadows title, Raducanu once again made a mockery of her ranking difference with a show-stopping performance and sealed victory after Sakkari whipped a forehand wide.
After two years of pain and very little gain, Raducanu is once again enjoying a joyous run of form as she has reached the last 16 without dropping a set and Sakkari's exit has opened up her quarter of the draw, which no longer features a seed.
"Today was really up there with the most fun I have had on a tennis court, I really enjoyed every single moment," Raducanu, flashing a megawatt smile, told the crowd.
That desire to do well at Wimbledon has been burning inside Raducanu ever since she reached the fourth round on her debut appearance in 2021.
Big-stage jitters and injuries might have prevented her from topping that performance but on Friday's evidence, many will start believing this could be the year when she becomes the first home hope since Virginia Wade in 1977 to hoist the Venus Rosewater Dish.
HOME CROWD
"I love playing on the big courts. It's something that I play tennis for. I just love the feeling of it, competing, especially here in front of a home crowd. It is really amazing," added the 21-year-old, who will next face New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun.
Raducanu herself was amazing on Friday.
Sakkari barely had time to warm up her muscles before she found herself broken in the opening game of the contest.
A chance to break back in the next game disappeared within a blink of an eye after Raducanu fired down a 106mph ace.
For an athlete who readily admits she often suffers stage fright at the slams despite her top 10 status, this was exactly the kind of scenario Sakkari wanted to avoid.
When she saved three break points from 0-40 down in the fifth game, with Raducanu dumping what appeared to be an easy smash into the net on the third attempt, Sakkari might have thought she had finally grabbed her "get out of jail free" card.
But with the fans noisily cheering every Sakkari error, the Greek player faced a tall order trying to tame not one, but around 15,000 opponents.
As Raducanu hailed the eye-popping lob that gave her the double break for a 5-2 lead in the first set with a one-armed salute, it was effectively match over for Sakkari, who went on to bow out by misfiring 31 unforced errors.
"There is a lot of people criticising me about my level but I couldn't care less what people think," snapped Sakkari, who arrived in London having fallen in the first-round in four of her previous five majors.
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar; Editing by Alison Williams)
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