British Hopes Flying High Thanks To Norrie, Kartal And Raducanu

Cameron Norrie
Cameron Norrie (photo: Wimbledon video)

WIMBLEDON/WASHINGTON, July 3, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

A British Invasion at this year’s 138th edition of the Wimbledon Championships has given homegrown fans something to cheer about. For the first time since Andy Murray won the second of his two Wimbldon titles in 2016, the British men have a genuine hope in World No. 4 Jack Draper to go all the way. If he should lift the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy and become just the third British man to win Wimbledon in the past 100 years, imagine the celebration that would take place throughout Wimbledon Village and London at-large.

In the meantime, as more than two dozen seeded players have been upset in the first three days of the British fortnight, the success of many British players – especially Cameron Norrie, Sonay Kartal and Emma Raducanu – has received positive attention. Even those who have lost – particularly No. 43 Katie Boulter, who fell to 101st-ranked Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1, on No. 1 Court Wednesday afternoon after upsetting No. 9 seed Paula Badosa on Monday, and 733rd-ranked qualifier Oliver Tarvet, who in just his first Grand Slam and second tour-level match, gave a good account of himself in losing 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to World No. 2 and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on Centre Court – have shown promise for a good future.

For now, Norrie, Kartal and Raducanu are all through to the third round. Here are their stories:

Norrie showing a sense of renewal

For the first time in his career, Cameron Norrie beat a Top-20 opponent at Wimbledon. The 29-year-old former British No. 1, who is now ranked 61st and playing in his eighth Championships, rallied from a set down to upset No. 12 seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, in two hours and 56 minutes on No. 1 Court to advance to Friday’s third round against No. 73 Mattia Bellucci of Italy.

As he reflected on his triumph during his post-match news conference, in which he finished with 48 winners – including 17 aces – and outpointed Tiafoe 139-119, Norrie said: “It was a very nice win and a high-level match from both of us.

“I think especially in the first set, I was playing well, serving well. Did nothing wrong, but lost 6-4. I just tried to tell myself to keep doing what I doing. … Don’t change too much, hoping his level would drop a little bit. It did ever so slightly. I took my chances when I needed to.”

Norrie, a former World No. 8 who missed last summer’s Paris Olympics and the US Open while dealing with a forearm injury, has shown a sense of renewal this week with back-to-back four-set victories against No. 42 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and Tiafoe on grass after a pair of back-to-back first-round losses at Queen’s Club and Eastbourne, against Jakub Mensik and fellow Briton Billy Harris. Previously, he finished strong on clay with a semifinal run at Geneva followed by reaching the final 16 at Roland-Garros.

Now, Norrie hopes to improve upon his best showing at Wimbledon, which came in 2022 when he reached the semifinals. Should he beat Bellucci, a possible fourth-round opponent could be 143rd-ranked Nicolas Jarry of Chile and No. 2 seed Alcaraz looms as a quarterfinal foe.

After defeating Tiafoe on the second-biggest show court at the All England Club, Norrie said: “I would love to play on that Court 1 again. I just really like how the court plays and how my team is on the very corner of the court there. They have a good view. You feel the connection with your team. You can get fired up. Definitely a little bit more loud than the Centre Court.”

Kartal doesn’t want last year’s Wimbledon finish to be a one-off

With back-to-back wins, the 51st-ranked Sonay Kartal is making No. 3 Court her own. After defeating No. 20 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on Monday, Kartal returned to the scene of her victory and added to it with her 6-2, 6-2 straight-set rout of 111th-ranked Bulgarian Viktorija Tomova in just 67 minutes to advance to the third round for the second straight year.

“I wanted to back up the run I had here last year,” the 23-year-old Kartal said after her second-round triumph on Wednesday. “I didn’t want people to think it was just a one-off. After the match against Jelena I had so much confidence.”

A year ago, Kartal was ranked inside the Top 300 when she qualified for the main draw and advanced to the round of 32 before losing to Coco Gauff. Now that she’s knocking on the door of the Top 50 a year later, good results are coming her way – and she’s making a believer of her critics.

Against Tomova, Kartal hit 23 winners, converted five of six break points and outpointed her opponent 57-37.

“On the court, I’m pretty tunnel vision,” Kartal said. “I don’t lie to give too much away. The last 12 months I have thrown myself on the scene. Top 50 – so playing all the big matches. I only wanted to play the bigger matches. Playing the best players, day-in, day-out. I feel like I’m playing better and with more confidence.”

On Friday, Kartal will face 118th-ranked French qualifier Diane Parry, who upset No. 12 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, 6-4, 6-1, in 71 minutes on Court 18.

Raducanu beginning to show that great feeling, again

Friday’s order of play will also include 40th-ranked British darling Emma Raducanu. The 2021 US Open champion is beginning to show the form – “the great feeling” – she enjoyed at Wimbledon in the summer of 2021 in the run-up to her historic major title run at Flushing Meadows.

Now 22, Raducanu will take on World No. 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the only Top-5 seed remaining in the women’s draw following the early-round exits by No. 2 seed Gauff, No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula, No. 4 seed and 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini and No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen. At stake is a berth in the second week of this year’s grass-court major.

Through the first two rounds of this year’s British fortnight, Raducanu has defeated 318th-ranked British wild card Mimi Xu and 2023 Wimbledon titlist Marketa Vondrousova of Czechia, now ranked 73rd. Both of her victories have come in under 90 minutes and each was completed in straight sets.

After she defeated Vondrousova, Raducanu was in a good mood during her on-court interview, with a colorful Wimbledon towel draped over her shoulders. “I played really, really welll,” she said, with a hint of laughter in her voice. “I knew it was going to be extremely difficult – she’s in form and she’s won this tournament.

“I put my game out there and was really focused the whole way through. I knew I had to be aggressive because Marketa would beat me if I pushed the ball around.”

Raducanu struck 18 winners, converted four of 11 break-point chances, won seven of 12 net-point exchanges and outpointed Vondrousova 72-54.

Looking ahead to her showdown with Sabalenka, who has been equally impressive in winning both of her first two matches in straight sets over 194th-ranked Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine and No. 48 Marie Bouzkova, Raducanu said she guesses “there’s no pressure on me at all in the next round.

“Aryna is so dominant and has won everything. All I can do is control my side of the court as best as possible.”

By the numbers

With three British players already through to the third round – Cameron Norrie in the men’s draw and Sonay Kartal and Emma Raducanu in the women’s draw – Jack Draper hopes that he and his three compatriots in action today can join them. World No. 4 Draper faces 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic of Croatia in a bid to reach the third round at Wimbledon for the first time.

Should Draper, Dan Evans, Arthur Fery and Jack Pinnington Jones all win, it will represent the highest number of British players to reach the third round at a Grand Slam since 1975 Wimbledon.

“Quotable …”

“I feel amazing. It’s one of the best matches I’ve played in a along time. There’s no better feeling than winning at Wimbledon on the Centre Court. It’s so fleeting and then quickly you need to get back in gear for the next day and the next round. So for the rest of this evening, I’m going to enjoy this one because it was really special.

“I feel at home here at Wimbledon. It’s so rare I have all my friends here in one place. They’re my rock, the closest people to me outside my family, who I’ve known since childhood. It’s hard on the tour week to week. I really cherish these moments.”

– British No. 1 Emma Raducanu, following her second-round victory over 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova on Wednesday.

 

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