Emma Raducanu’s hotly anticipated return to Wimbledon concluded with a straight sets victory over Renata Zarazúa.
The 21-year-old former US Open champion won 7-6 6-3 on Centre Court against an Italian lucky loser parachuted in to play the former British No1.
The two exchanged blows in the first set before Raducanu blew her opponent away in the tiebreak.
In the second set Raducanu turned the screw and got the job done.
Raducanu said: “It was an incredibly difficult match and I have barely played anyone who kept getting the ball back. It took a lot of strength to get over the line. It’s not easy when you’re not in the draw [Zarazua] and then playing on Centre Court so props to her.”
Elsewhere defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beat Mark Lajal 7-6 7-5 6-2 while Daniil Medvedev and Madison Keys and scored wins on No1 Court.
Brits Heather Watson, Charles Broom, Liam Broady and Arthur Fery lost while Yuriko Lily Miyazaki joined Raducanu in the second round.
The biggest upset of the day, however, was the elimination of Chinese eighth seed Qinwen Zheng, who lost 6-4 2-6 4-6 to unseeded Lulu Sun. Denis Shapovalov also to the scalp of a seed, beating Nicolás Jarry 6-1 7-5 6-4.
