Emma Raducanu produced another impressive victory as she beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-2 in the second round at Queen’s.
The British No 1 was greeted with huge cheers as she served out the match in front of a packed Andy Murray Arena for her second straight victory in as many matches on grass.
The win is her first over a top-20 player in over a year and means she is set to face the winner of Harriet Dart and Kamilla Rakhimova in a quarter-final clash later today.
Raducanu got off to a blistering start, forcing two breaks in the first three games with some ferocious forehands to take a commanding 4-0 lead, but the experienced Cirstea fought back, winning three games on the bounce to put pressure back on her opponent.
The 2021 US Open champion made costly unforced errors to allow the Romanian a chance at a third break at 4-5, but bounced back to win two straight points and serve out a hard-fought 50-minute first set.
This victory gives her her first win over a top-20 player since May 2025.
She will now try to do better than last year at Queen’s, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Qinwen Zheng.
(The Whistler)
