Under suffocating pressure to hold on to her serve at all costs against one of the best players in the world, it came as no surprise when Emma Raducanu faltered. Although she had fought hard and rallied after conceding a convincing first set against an imperious Zheng Qinwen, in truth she was never in control.
Up 4-3 in the second set but down break point, Raducanu double faulted. A few minutes later, the match was over. The tension felt by the British No 1 in those decisive moments was a reflection of the constant pressure imposed on all contenders by the best players in the world, a challenge that she continues to struggle with.
Her positive week at Queen’s Club ended at the hands of an impressive Zheng, the top seed and world No 5, who overpowered Raducanu to reach the first grass-court semi-final of her blossoming career with a 6-2, 6-4 win.
After two months of trying to adapt her game to suit slow, unfamiliar clay courts, the grass-court season on home soil has provided Raducanu with a helpful boost. She put together straight-sets wins against the Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa and Rebecca Sramkova, the world No 41, and she will regain her status as the British No 1 next week. Still, while she has performed well against players ranked outside of the top 30, her game has often looked underpowered compared with the best in the world.
Zheng and Raducanu are just one month apart in age. They first met at the Orange Bowl under-12s and they sometimes speak with each other in Chinese. While Raducanu broke through at 18, Zheng’s rise has been gradual but much more certain. Over the past year, she has established herself as a top contender, winning the Olympic gold medal in Paris. However, she has had minimal experience on grass. She entered this season 3-8 on the surface.
This inexperience is countered by the massive weapons at her disposal, which means she is more than capable of being effective on grass. Although it can be inconsistent, Zheng’s first serve is a devastating, precise shot that is complemented by her vicious forehand. The 22-year-old is also one of the better athletes on the tour.
Although Raducanu tried to impose her game on Zheng by attacking second serves on the rise and injecting pace into her forehand, she was overwhelmed by the Chinese player, who served brilliantly in the opening set and controlled the baseline with her far heavier weight of shot throughout.
Raducanu entered Queen’s Club still uncertain about her physical condition after a recurrence of her back spasms. Before the start of the second set, she took an off-court medical timeout to address her back.
“It’s been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had back issues before. I think it’s just a vulnerability of mine,” she said afterwards. “I know I need to take good care of it. I’m not overly concerned that it’s something serious, but I know it’s something that’s very annoying and needs proper and careful management.”
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As Raducanu returned to court, Zheng eventually fell back down to earth. Her first-serve percentage plummeted and her forehand errors began to pile up. Raducanu suffocated Zheng’s second serve and remained consistent as she twice broke for a 3-0 lead. Yet despite her fast start to the second set, the lead was never convincing.
As soon as Zheng regained her rhythm on serve and range on her forehand, she took full control of the baseline again. At 4-3, Raducanu double faulted on break point to relinquish the second break as Zheng rolled through four consecutive games from 4-2 down to close out a strong win.
“I think returning is one of my big strengths, and I think Qinwen served really well,” said Raducanu. “I didn’t see many second serves. And she hit her spots really well in some big moments. Credit to her. She kind of took away one of my bigger strengths. I think I have a lot of work to do, to be honest.”
It remains to be seen how her back will hold up, but Raducanu will next head to the WTA 500 event in Berlin in search of more matches with the best players in the world.
