Emma Raducanu battled hard in her fourth round clash against Ajla Tomljanovic, but eventually had to retire with the Australian leading 6-4, 3-0.
Raducanu – the youngest Brit to reach the fourth round of the women’s singles draw – signed off her extraordinary Wimbledon journey in front of the British crowd on Court 1.
A slightly nervy start from the Brit saw her hit two double faults in her opening service game, but facing an early break point she held it together. A couple of big serves and the first look at her signature double handed backhand put Raducanu on the scoreboard with an important hold.
Growing in confidence she held for love at 3-3 and launched an attack on the Australian’s serve. At 30-30 she forced Tomljanovic to blast her forehand long to set up a break point, but couldn’t take her chance.
More break point opportunities came and went for Raducanu in her opponent’s next service game as well, with the British star struggling to take advantage. The World No.75 eventually saw out the game with her one and only ace of the set and an expertly constructed point pushing Raducanu out wide before finishing on the short cross court winner.
Errors proved costly in the end for Raducanu – she hit 12 unforced errors in the first set – and Tomlijanovic started to find some rhythm. The Australian ramped up the pressure once again and it seemed to throw the 18-year-old off – Raducanu sprayed a forehand past the baseline facing break point to give Tomljanovic a one-set lead.
Tomljanovic looked much more confident heading into the second set and quickly broke the Brit to take an early advantage.
Raducanu didn’t look herself and despite pushing the Australian for a break to get back in the set, she was forced to take a medical timeout and eventually called an end to the match and what has been an incredible tournament for the young British star.
Joe Salisbury became the first British player to book his spot in the Wimbledon quarter-finals as he an Rajeev Ram defeated Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (10).
A comprehensive performance from the 2019 Australian Open champions saw them save five break points in the match, as well as six set points in the third set to win in straight sets.
Up next they will face familiar foes in third seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah – who Salisbury and Ram recently beat at the Viking International Eastbourne.
Harriet Dart and Heather Watson won the first set in their third round clash against Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan, but the seventh seeds came back to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Also missing out on a place in the quarter-finals are Cam Norrie and Jaume Munar who retired in their opening set and Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara who withdrew from today’s match.
Rain disrupted play in the mixed doubles with Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart returning tomorrow to play a deciding set against Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs. Meanwhile Arthur Fery and Tara Moore will be looking to close out a win over Fabrice Martin and Alexa Guarachi with the scores at 6-3, 5-3.