Wimbledon 2024: Emma Raducanu emulates England at Euros with 'ugly win' against Renata Zarazua

At times, it wasn’t pretty but Emma Raducanu booked her place in the second round of Wimbledon on Monday two years after her last match at the All England Club.

Raducanu had labelled herself a massive underdog when drawn against No22 see Ekaterina Alexandrova, 113 places higher than her in the world order.

But the Briton’s pre-match status changed on Monday morning when Alexandrova withdrew with illness and was replaced by the far less heralded Renata Zarazua.

The Mexican’s mercurial style rattled Raducanu for much of a tight two sets, knocking her off her rhythm and paving the way for a flurry of unforced errors. But in a see-saw contest, Raducanu was the deserving winner 7-6, 6-3.

She likened it to England’s scrappy last-16 win at the Euros against Slovakia the previous night, calling it “winning ugly”.

Since losing in the second round of Wimbledon back in 2022 – a year after her thrilling run to the fourth round on debut – Raducanu had not competed at her home grand slam.

And even though she played grasscourt tournaments in Nottingham and Eastbourne, the 21-year-old looked nervy and occasionally out of sorts on Centre Court despite opening the match with a powerful forehand winner.

She saved a break point on serve before pulling off the first break of the match for a 3-2 lead only for Zarazua to break back three games later.

Having previously produced 18 unforced errors in the set, Raducanu played a near-flawless tiebreak, winning all seven points and letting out a roar in celebration.

The second set was still tight for much of it despite the scoreline but again she came good at the pivotal points, breaking for a 4-2 lead which her rival never managed to close.

Raducanu knows she will have to up her level in the subsequent rounds - for example, she barely won a third of all her points at the net - and yet she will have been buoyed by grinding out this win.

After the win, the British player, who now plays Elise Mertens in the second round, said: “It was an incredibly difficult match. She kept getting the ball back. It took a lot of strength to get over the line.

“It took a little bit of adjusting and finding my feet. I really enjoyed playing back here. I’m incredibly happy to be back here.”