British No 1 cannot match world No 5 who wins 6-2, 6-4
Raducanu loses after two impressive straight-sets wins
Emma Raducanu’s positive week at Queen’s came to a difficult end as she was overpowered by Zheng Qinwen, the Chinese top seed and world No 5, who produced a stellar performance to reach her first grass court semi-final with a 6-2, 6-4 win.
After two months of trying to adapt her game to slow, unfamiliar clay courts, returning to the grass-court season on home soil has provided Raducanu with a helpful boost. She put together two impressive straight-sets wins against the Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa and Rebecca Sramkova, the world No 41.
This match, however, represented a significant step up. Over the past year, Zheng, who is just one month older than Raducanu, has firmly established herself as one of the best players in the world and a contender for all of the biggest tournaments, winning the Olympic gold medal in Paris and rising to her current ranking of No 5. However, Zheng has had minimal experience on grass and had only three wins on the surface before this season’s start. She narrowly survived McCartney Kessler, the world No 42, on Thursday evening after receiving a first-round bye.
