Few tennis players understand the importance of taking advantage of opportunities quite like Emma Raducanu. Her transcendent 2021 US Open triumph, after all, was an exercise in rising spectacularly to the occasion as various factors fell in her favour. Her life has never been the same since.
With the last-minute withdrawal of her scheduled first-round opponent, the 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, the opening day of her third Wimbledon potentially presented another. Raducanu walked on to Centre Court as the heavy favourite in her opening match, rather than the underdog, and although she struggled early on with the weight that comes with those expectations, the 21-year-old held firm to reach the second round with a tough 7-6 (0), 6-3 win against the lucky loser Renata Zarazúa.
