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Raducanu run out of Queen’s by Zheng

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Emma Raducanu ended home hopes at the WTA edition at Queen’s club on Friday as the injyry-hit Brit fell 6-2, 6-4 to Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen to exit the Wimbledon tuneup tournament.

Raducanu, who took the national No. 1 spot this week at home from Katie Boulter, needed mid-match treatment for a back problem, one of a string of  injuries which have blighted her game ever since she won the US Open four years ago from an unprecedented qualifying start.

The Briton needed a medical timeout after losing the first set to China’s world No.5. Raducanu briefly took a 3-0 lead in the second set only to be pegged back.

Qualifier Tatjana Maria, 37 and ranked 86th, shut down 2022 Wimbledon titleholder Elena Rybakina 6-4 7-6 (4 to play for the final against Madison Keys, a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner over Diana Shnaider.

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Wimbledon alert for injured Alcaraz

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Carlos Alcaraz could miss the entire grass season if a worst-case scenario on his wrist injury comes into play.

The Spaniard has already withdrawn from  title defences on clay at Rome and Roland Garros after injuring the wrist this month in Barcelona.

But latest reports from Spain indicate that the world No. 2 could possibly not be back until the start of the US Open run-up next August, possibly at the Cincinnati Masters.

Rome’s La Gazzetta dello Sport broke the bad news on the fitness state of Alcaraz, winner of the last two French Open editions. The paper reported there was no chance for the player to compete either at Queen’s club, London, or Wimbledon, which begins in late June.

Main photo:- Carlos Alcaraz reached Wimbledon final 2025 – by Roger Parker ISF Ltd

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Wimbledon 2025 Men’s Day 3

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Carlos Alcaraz bossed the lowest-ranked player left in the draw on Wednesday, with the two-time Wimbledon titlewinner posting a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 result over British qualifier Olivier Tarvet to move to the third round.  

Alcaraz is defending his title and hoping for three in a row next weekend as the second seed backs up the grass title he won at Queen’s club last month.

No. 733 Tarvet – Ollie to his friends – has played a limited schedule as he attends University in California.

Alcaraz is now riding a 20-match win streak, with titles in Rome, Roland Garros and on grass at Queen’s Club, London..

“I’ve just found the right way,” the second seed said. “I’m trying to enjoy every match.

“That’s been the key to the last two or three months. I want to enjoy and keep going forward. It’s a gift;  I want to make the most of my time at Wimbledon.”

Cam Norrie scratched out a British win as he left Frances Tiafoe frustrated by playing against the crowd in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 loss.

The winner was more than pleased with his showing: “I played an unreal match. All around complete. Serving well, moving well, solving the dropshot really well, which in the past I haven’t done that well. 

“Hitting the slice well. Coming forward well. Being clinical.”

He added: “Especially in the first set, I was playing well, serving well. I did  nothing wrong, but lost 6-4. 

“I just tried to tell myself to keep doing what I’m doing, not really changing too much and hoping his level would drop a little bit. 

“It did ever so slightly. I took my chances when I needed to. I was pretty calm. I was really enjoying my tennis out there.”

American 12th seed Tiafoe has never been past the Wimbledon fourth round, which he managed only once three years ago.

Tiafoe said playing against the home crowd did not particularly bother him, but Norrie sometimes did.

“He was super amped, saying, ‘C’mon’ from the first game, which is definitely annoying –  that part bothered me more than the crowd,” Tiafoe said.

“The biggest thing is that he kept going and playing much better because of the crowd. I don’t think he plays as well if the crowd wasn’t behind him.

“They really pushed him, and he started believing.”

Teenaged young gun Joao Fonseca cotinued to impress in his Wimbledon debut, with the 18-year-old overwhelming Eastbourne finalist Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 after three and a quarter hours, striking more than 50 winners.

Fonseca is the first Brazilian man into the third round here since Thomaz Bellucci in 2010.

“It’s a thing to be proud of myself, for sure; it’s a great achievement,” he said.

“It’s just an opportunity to be here, to play this amazing tournament. Now being in the third round is just amazing. 

“I’m so very happy the way that I’m developing on this surface, I’m evolving.. so  happy with it.”

Chile’s Nicolas Jarry – Fonseca’s next opponent – sent American Learner Tien home 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, but US player Brandon Nakashima beat Bu Yunchokete of China 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 91), 6-4.  

Portugal’s Nuno Borges accounted for Brit Billy Harris 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7). 

The 14th seeded Andrey Rublev got past South African Lloyd Harris with a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 fightback after losing in the opening round a year ago.

Valentin Royer lost 48 hours after stunning Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the French qualifier taken down by veteran compatriot Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (1) in nearly three and a half hours on the lawns.

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Brit tabs hype Raducanu-Alcaraz romance hopes

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British tabloids have begun the pre-Wimbledon buildup by floating rumours of a budding Emma Raducanu-Carlos Alcaraz love match.

The red tops are apparently hoping that the dream pairing of the tennis duo might be the talk of the courts when main draw play begins on Monday at SW19.

A minor twig – the two will play one-off mixed doubles at the US Open in August – provided the fuel for a bonfire of speculation, with London’s Mail Online rolling out a body language expert to assess the pair of Grand Slam winners..

A headline insisted that the players “spark romance rumours as they are spotted laughing and joking together ahead of US Open team-up.”

The local expert also suggested that Raducanu exhibited “hair-preening” gestures and looked “coy” when the topic was raised.

Meanwhile, the Sun said the gossip was the ‘talk of Queen’s”, adding that ‘there is something going on between them’.

The body language guru said that Raducanu’s “gaze became evasive” when the talk turned to Alcaraz, like her, aged 22. The researcher added that Raducanu smiled as she mentioned past contacts with the Spaniard, playing with her hair like a “fan-girl.”

The pair first cema in direct contact at Wimbledon four years ago during the pandemic edition of the Grand Slam when they played doubles together.

‘He’s so nice, very  happy, amazing values and just a really positive light to be around,’ she said,

‘It was really cool to go through that tournament together and then I kept going through the US Open, we were staying in touch for the whole time and, yeah, it’s nice.’

Main photo:- Emma Raducanu watches Carlos Alcaraz at Queens Club

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