Wimbledon: Emma Raducanu wins as SEVEN Brits reach second round on historic day at All England Club

Emma Raducanu was one of SEVEN Brits to win on the opening day of Wimbledon - the most successful day for homegrown players in singles at the Grand Slam in the Open Era.

Raducanu eased into the second round of Wimbledon as she produced a commanding display to defeat British teenager Mimi Xu in straight sets on the opening day at the All England Club.

Raducanu ousted the 17-year-old Xu 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes to set up a meeting with 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who knocked out recent Nottingham Open winner McCartney Kessler.

Joining the British No 1 in the second round were Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie, Arthur Fery, Sonay Kartal, Oliver Tarvet and Billy Harris.

Raducanu, making her 14th Grand Slam appearance, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year in what marked her best appearance at a Slam since her victory on debut at the US Open in 2021.

Meanwhile, her opponent Xu of Wales was making her Wimbledon and major main draw debut, having made her WTA main draw bow in Nottingham earlier this month.

"Well I'm glad people were having fun today. I saw a champagne cork fly onto the court. I'm glad you guys are having a good time. Cheers to you," said Raducanu in her on-court interview.

"It's really nice to be back, I use it as support and I love it, I love playing in this atmosphere.

"It's my favourite tournament by far so I'm just so happy to get another match here."

Raducanu coasted to the first set in just 37 minutes after breaking her opponent as early as the second game and winning all 13 of her first serve points.

For all of her industry Xu could not find an answer to the Raducanu serve while being punished for 16 unforced errors to her opponent's four.

The teenager suffered a slow start to the second set when she surrendered an early break to give Raducanu a 2-0 cushion after the pair had found themselves at deuce on five occasions.

A first break of serve did finally arrive for Xu when she fought back from 0-40 down to temporarily blunt Raducanu's momentum, hailing the moment by raising her arms aloft in a bid to will on the Court One crowd.

The two exchanged breaks over the next three games as Raducanu established a 4-2 lead before letting out a huge roar upon restoring her hold of serve for 5-2.

She was made to wait a little longer for the win when Xu battled to a hold to stay alive, but Raducanu would be denied no further as she converted her first match point to march onto the next round.

Later on Monday evening Boulter became the seventh British winner on day one as she defeated Paula Badosa 6-2 3-6 6-4 to reach the second round.

It marked the British No 2's fourth win over a top-10 player and her first in more than a year as she pencilled in a meeting with Argentinian lucky loser Solana Sierra.

"I think I got one of my first against (Karolina) Pliskova on this court and the moment I stepped out here it just reminded me of that from the first ball."

Britain's Sonay Kartal defeated 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2 to reach the second round, just a week after losing to the former French Open champion at the Eastbourne Open.

British No 4 Harriet Dart meanwhile suffered a first-round defeat to world No 110 Dalma Galfi, falling 3-6 6-3 6-7 to the Hungarian.

British qualifier Oliver Tarvet overcame Leondro Riedi on debut to book a clash against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norrie advanced with a victory over Roberto Bautista Agut, Arthur Fery eliminated 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, Billy Harris defeated Nuno Borges and British wild card Olivier Crawford was beaten in four sets by Italian world No 73 Mattia Bellucci.

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