Oueen’s double duty pays off for Raducanu

Emma Raducanu played and won two Saturday matches to reach only the third final of her career, with her 6-2, 6-2 decision over Iva Jovic sending the Londoner into the grass court final at Queen’s club.

While she finished runner-up last February in her father;s native Romania, the No. 42 had previously not appeared in a title match since her shock title win at the 2021 US Open.

Raducanu has had a turbulent few seasons, most recently spending 10 weeks out of action with a virus.

Her defeat of 18-year-old American Jovic, ranked 19th in the world, sent her into Sunday;’s final against Donna Vekic, who put out Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3.

The schedule this week in west London was seriously interrupted by several days of rain, with Raducanu playing catch-up in early afternoon as she beat  Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 7-5 in a quarter-final.

She came back a few hours later after suffering a thigh injury in that match to take on Jovic.

Raducanu and Jovic traded three consecutive service breaks early in the second set, with the Brit coming out ahead 3-1.

She then consolidated, breaking for a final time to clinch victory after 89 minutes.

“It means everything to do it (reach the final) here at Queen’s in front of everyone” Raducanu said as she prepares for her first grass final after defeating two top 20 players this pre-Wimbledon week

“The whole day was electric, it’s been incredible. I came through some really tough moments.

“Any Brit would love to win the title here.”

Main photo:- Emma Raducancu into only her third final – by Mark Greenwood/ISF Ltd