By Ros Satar
- Emma Raducanu [10] def. Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4 6-4
- Raducanu v Caroline Garcia
- Raducanu leads head-to-head 1-0
LONDON, UK – Emma Raducanu survived a tough challenge from Alison Van Uytvanck but faces Caroline Garcia, fresh from her grass court triumph in Bad Homburg.
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Emma Raducanu [10] def. Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4 6-4
Returning to where it all really started for Emma Raducanu last year, having finished with her A-Levels, the British No. 1 met with a tough test from Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck. With all eyes on Raducanu and whether her injury would flare up, there was edginess from both at the start of the match, making Centre Court debuts.
A flurry of breaks saw Raducanu come out on top, as she went on to serve for the first set. She had six chances to break Van Uutvanck in the second set, but failed to capitalise on any of them, and then found herself a break down to the Belgian. Raducanu didn’t panic and broke back but she was starting to look as though she was slowing down.
Fortunately for her, Van Uytvanck had never really seemed comfortable on the bigger stage, as Raducanu broke late in the second and closed out her first win.
“I felt good out there. There were some tough moments in the second set physically, but I told myself, ‘Push through, if you win in two sets, then you don’t have to play three,'” she said after the match.
Emma Raducanu [10] v Caroline Garcia | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Emma Raducanu [10] v Caroline Garcia | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon | London, UK |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £78,000 |
| Second on Centre Court, not before 3:30pm BST | BBC Sport |
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
| H2H: | Emma Raducanu (WR 11) | Caroline Garcia (WR 55) |
| Tournament Previous Best | R4 (2021) | R4 (2017) |
| 1st Serve Return Points Won % | 41.1 | 32.7 |
| Return Points Won % | 48.9 | 38.2 |
| Break Point Conversion % | 35.3 | 48.4 |
| Break Points Saved % | 54.5 | 67.5 |
| Total Points Won % | 52.5 | 51.2 |
Even allowing for Raducanu’s scant time on court at all this year, her return stats are far better than Caroline Garcia, but the Frenchwoman is a lot more efficient on converting her break point chance and indeed getting out of trouble on her own serve.
Playing Styles & Prediction
At her best, Garcia is a canny player and she has a proven track record on the grass. She can serve, smack the ball with pace, defend, come to the net – she can do it all. But what she lacks at times is the consistency, shown as she struggled to adust to Brit wildcard Lily Miyazaki, before her experience helped get her over the line.
Raducanu will have hopefully shaken off some of the nerves, and showed that she could adjust and puzzle things out against Van Uytvanck.
But if Garcia pushes her to a third set, then we will see if the persistent issues with her stamina and capability over a longer match plays up.
Prediction: Raducanu in straight sets
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