London: American second seed Coco Gauff eased past British qualifier Sonay Kartal 6-5, 6-0 on a packed No.1 Court while former US Open winner and wild card Emma Raducanu maintained her chances by stunning ninth seed Maria Sakkari in straight sets to reach the fourth round of women’s singles at the Wimbledon here on Friday.
The World No. 298 Kartal had walked out confidently onto the court on Friday, as only the second British woman in the Open Era to reach the third after coming through Qualifying. He might have been hoping to emulate Gauff, who had at this same court caused a sensation as a 15-year-old in 2019 when she stunned five-time champion Venus Williams.
But Kartal’s journey ended in just over an hour as Gauff raced past her, losing only four games in all.
As rain pattered on the closed No.1 Court roof, Gauff emerged easy victor to reach the second week and equal what remains her best performance here to date. The US Open champion will need to get past her fast-rising compatriot Emma Navarro in the next round if she has to extend her stay here.
While Gauff was getting the better of a local star, another one rose to the occasion and defeated a seeded player to reach the fourth round. Raducanu commandingly booked British representation in the second week of Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over No.9 seed Maria Sakkari.
Under a closed roof on Centre Court, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu thrilled her home crowds by toppling ninth-ranked Sakkari in 1 hour and 32 minutes of play.
Currently ranked World No.135, Raducanu is maintaining a strong stretch of form during the grass-court swing — a portion of the year she missed in 2023 while recovering from injuries and surgeries.
Raducanu made her first semifinal of the year on the lawns of Nottingham, then backed it up by beating top-10 player Jessica Pegula to reach the Eastbourne quarterfinals.
Former World No.10 Raducanu is now into the Wimbledon second week for the first time since she reached the Round of 16 upon her main-draw debut in 2021 — the Slam preceding her historic US Open title run.
–IANS