With four matches scheduled on Centre Court, play began at 12:00pm today. Starting us off, Katie Boulter came out firing in her match against Diana Shnaider. Playing some of her best tennis, she cruised to a 6-2 victory in the first set. The tide turned in the second set though, when Shnaider got an early break despite Boulter being 40-0 up in her opening service game. Momentum had shifted, and it was starting to look like it was going to be a tough ask for Boulter to keep her lead in this match. Boulter’s serve abandoned her in the second set and she had to fight through each service game, whilst Shnaider was winning hers with relative ease. At 5-1, two breaks down, Boulter was able to recover one break but couldn’t stop Shnaider from taking the match to a decider. The third set followed a similar pattern and Shnaider once again got herself a two-break lead. The match finished 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Shnaider’s progression to the next round sets up a match against Madison Keys.
Next up, the second of today’s three Brits, Heather Watson. This would be a tough test for the British qualifier who got her biggest win of the year here on Tuesday, as she was set to face the 2022 Wimbledon Champion, Elena Rybakina. Rybakina is a top player, currently the world number 11, she’s a powerful opponent with a good track-record on grass. Watson put up a good fight in the first set, but a clinical performance and decisive break saw Rybakina take it 6-4. The second set was slightly more straightforward for Rybakina as she got into her stride. Watson wasn’t going to let her have it easy though, and when Rybakina was serving at 5-2, Watson got herself five break points but unfortunately she wasn’t quite able to convert. Great to have Rybakina here for her first singles appearance at Queen’s, and what a perfect start to her grass season. The match finished 6-4, 6-2.
One more Brit to go – could this be the winner? Emma Raducanu was set to face Rebecca Sramkova, who put in a great performance on Tuesday evening to knock out the current Wimbledon Champion, causing somewhat of a shock exit. Raducanu made a splendid start to the match, cruising to a 5-0 lead, but Sramkova then managed four games on the bounce to bring it back to 5-4. Crucially, and with huge support from the fans inside the Andy Murray Arena to give her that much needed extra push, Raducanu then held to love to take the set 6-4. In the 2nd set, Raducanu again got an immediate break and this time managed a 4-0 lead. Sramkova was serving to stay in the set at 5-1, and yet again couldn’t keep Raducanu out. The Brit won the match 6-4, 6-1, much to the delight of the home fans! Following Boulter’s result earlier in the day, Emma moves to the British number 1 ranking.
The final match on Centre Court was a first appearance at Queen’s for the Championship’s number 1 seed, and world number 5, Qinwen Zheng. On the other side of the net was the USA’s Mccartney Kessler - this would surely be a big test for the American. A clinical first set from Zheng saw her convert 2/2 break points, taking the opener 6-3 in just 38 minutes. The 2nd set was a tug of war with both players strong in their service games. Kessler was the player to break the deadlock, getting a break of serve at the perfect time as her opponent served to stay in the set at 5-4 – into a 3rd we went. In the decider, the first break of serve went to Kessler, but this was quickly countered by the number 1 seed. Zheng eventually then got the crucial break of serve to go 6-5 and then was able to serve it out, ending the match 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
CLICK HERE FOR TOMORROW'S ORDER OF PLAY