Wimbledon Brit round-up: Wins for teenager Emma Raducanu as Katie Boulter nearly pulls off big shock

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Kent teenager Emma Raducanu pulled off comfortably the biggest win of her nascent career with an astonishing comeback on her Grand Slam debut.

The former child go karter fell 5-3 behind against Vitalia Diatchenko but then proceeded to win 10 of the next 11 games in a breathtaking turnaround by the world No.338 on a bright day for the British contingent.

It meant the 18-year-old, who was handed a wildcard into the main draw after a string of promising performances, pockets at least £75,000.

Katie Boulter, who arrived on Centre Court with a heavily strapped right elbow after a litany of injury setbacks, came within a whisker of arguably the biggest win of her career too before coming off second best in a seesaw encounter against Aryna Sabalenka.

Boulter deservedly took the first set and the Belarusian the second. They swapped breaks of serve early on but the pivotal game proved the ninth in the deciding set.

It lasted more than 10 minutes, during which the Briton had six break points but could not convert them against Sabalenka, who held on and immediately broke again for a 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

In the men’s draw, Cameron Norrie finally joined Andy Murray, Dan Evans and Liam Broady in the second round of on the third day of action in his delayed first-round match.

Norrie’s match against Lucas Pouille had begun late on Tuesday night with the Frenchman, a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, taking the tiebreak 8-6.

But on their return to No2 Court the following afternoon, it was entirely different affair as Norrie boasted the advantage for much of the remainder of the tie to win 6-7 7-5 6-2 7-5.

Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2021

Wimbledon 2021 - Day Twelve - The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
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The British No2, seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam in 29th, found himself under pressure in the fourth set a break down but broke back to level the scores at 5-5. Pouille had the opportunity to serve to stay in the match but he was broken again.

It edged Norrie ever closer to a potential third-round meeting against Roger Federer and he plays again in the first match on No1 Court on Thursday.

Evans, meanwhile, is already into the third round with another impressive performance in defeating Dusan Lajovic 6-3 6-3 6-4.

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