Emma Raducanu has gone from having a really tricky Wimbledon first-round matchup to having a pretty favorable draw after No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova withdrew hours before their match.
On Friday, home favorite Raducanu didn't have much luck when she drew Alexandrova in the Wimbledon first round, who has two titles on grass. But now - a couple of hours before their scheduled first-round match - the Russian tennis star pulled out of The Championships due to illness.
Following Alexandrova's withdrawal, world No. 98 Renata Zarazua made the main draw as a lucky loser and she will be Raducanu's opponent later today. Last week, Zarazua won her opening two Wimbledon qualifying matches before losing to McCartney Kessler in the final round but she will still get a chance to make her Wimbledon debut.
When Raducanu, 21, and 26-year-old Zarazua meet today, it will be their first meeting. However, there is no doubt that on the grass, Raducanu is the big favorite to beat Zarazua.
Raducanu is in a great place
After making the Nottingham semifinal in her first grass tournament, Raducanu also defeated Sloane Stephens and Jessica Pegula last week before losing in the Eastbourne quarterfinal.
"Yeah, I would say this preparation has worked out really well. I got a great balance between matches, but also staying fresh and not playing too much. I think the Eastbourne week, it was really helpful in getting some top-level matches, and also to get a really good win in the second round. Yeah, my best win to date. I think I should take a lot of confidence from that," Raducanu said at Wimbledon.
Also it helps not arriving too early, I would say, to the site because sometimes when you arrive too early, you have time to think. Ive done it before where Ive not played before the Grand Slam. Id make the second round, play my match Thursday, but Ive been there since Monday before. I feel like in week two, but Im in round two."
