Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon hopes have been crushed on Centre Court as she was knocked out in the second round.
The 19-year-old US Open champion was defeated by France’s Caroline Garcia who won in straight sets 6-3 6-3.
The British number one had burst on to the tennis scene at SW19 last summer where she reached round four of the women’s singles, but she could not repeat her heroics this time.
Raducanu’s preparation for her second Wimbledon had not been ideal as she struggled with a side strain that limited her court time.
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In today’s match, Raducanu had no answer to her opponent’s superior firepower.
Garcia, a former top 10 player, dominated the opening set with her aggressive hitting, unsettling the 10th seed.
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Raducanu was broken in her first service game to go 2-0 down, before she broke back in the third game, making it 2-1.
The opening set then went with serve, before the Briton, ranked 11th in the world, slipped at the baseline in game six and she was broken by the 28-year-old Frenchwoman who went 4-2 up.
Garcia, the world number 55, and Raducanu then won their respective service games before Garcia went on to serve out the first set 6-3.
The second set went with serve until game five when Garcia broke her opponent to go 3-2 up. Raducanu then instantly broke back to level matters 3-3.
But the French player then broke Raducanu to make it 4-3.
Garcia won the next two games to take the second set 6-3, crushing her British opponent’s hopes.
“I was preparing for this match really well,” Garcia said of her first appearance on Centre Court.
“Emma is a huge player and in her home tournament and she proved she can do very well on the big stage.”
“It’s fair that they support Emma and of course it is a great memory for me and as always it is a lot of respect.”
Andy Murray was up next on Centre Court, taking on big-serving American John Isner.
Fellow Briton Cameron Norrie, seeded nine, earlier dug deep to book his place in the third round with a 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-0 6-2 win over Spaniard Jaume Munar.
