Andy Murray of Britain waves to spectators after the men's singles 2nd round match against John Isner of the United States at Wimbledon Tennis Championship in London, Britain, June 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray were knocked out at home court Wimbledon in the second round of women's and men's singles respectively.
LONDON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu was knocked out of the women's singles second round while her British compatriot Andy Murray also ended his journey in the men's singles at the Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday.
Raducanu, 19, couldn't find her sharpness on court and struggled with her serve on a somewhat windy day. On the contrary, her French opponent Caroline Garcia played at a high level from the start to wrap up the match on center court 6-3, 6-3.
"Obviously it's tough to lose any match, but I think that Caroline played a great match," said Raducanu.
"I struggled to find a way through her today. But it's okay because coming into this I didn't really have many expectations of myself," she added.
The teenager astonishingly reached the last 16 as a wild card player at Wimbledon last year before causing more sensation by triumphing at the U.S. Open.
But she has been struggling to adapt to playing in the full tour this season so far with injuries and lackluster results.
However, Raducanu didn't believe she was handling the burden of fame. "I am 19 years old. Yes, I have had attention. But I'm a slam champion, so no one's going to take that away from me. The pressure is on those who haven't done that."
Britain's Emma Raducanu returns the ball during the women's singles second round match against Caroline Garcia of France at Wimbledon Tennis Championship in London, Britain, June 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
Also in the center court, three-time Grand Slam champion Murray failed to pass the 20th seed John Isner as the American giant reached the third round in 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 6-4.
The men's singles defending champion Novak Djokovic spared little effort to see off Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, setting up a clash with his Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic.
Spain's fifth seed Carlos Alcaraz beat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets, but another clay expert, this year's French Open runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway lost to French Ugo Humbert.
Former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber from Germany reached the women's third round after defeating Magda Linette of Poland 6-3, 6-3. ■
