Queen’s Club Tennis: Emma Radukanu overcomes injury scare to reach semi-finals

Emma Radukanu overcame an injury scare to beat Kamila Rakhimova 6-3 7-5 to join fellow Briton Katie Boulter in the Queen’s semi-finals.

The British number one had to go on court for treatment in the second set after slipping while trying to change direction on the grass.

Returning to the Andy Murray Arena with his left thigh bandaged, Radukanu lost his serve as he struggled to regain the momentum he had before his collapse.

With Radukanu’s coaching team loudly cheering him on, the 2021 US Open champion had to dig deep as his opponent tried to take advantage.

The Briton regained her form to break Rakhimova’s serve to lead 5-4, but the Russian-born Uzbek was unable to seal victory on her serve as she fought back.

However, she broke Rakhimova again and eventually took her third match point to advance to the semi-finals.

“It was really tough, he played some incredible tennis and got a lot of balls back,” Raducanu told BBC TV. “It was an up and down match and I’m really grateful for the support I got in some tough moments.

“It was hard to take the fall, I was in a good place in the match and I found it difficult to regroup, but I’m proud of how I did it here with the help of you guys.

“It’s incredible and a great achievement for British tennis to have two semi-finalists. It’s great to see and I wish Katie well.”

The 23-year-old will return later on Saturday to face American teenager Eva Jovic in Sunday’s final, while Boulter faces Croatia’s Donna Vecic.

Raducanu earned her first win over a top-20 opponent in more than a year with a win over Romanian world number 18 Sorana Cirstia on Friday, but was unable to start her quarter-final last night.

After dropping her serve in the third game against Rakhimova, Radukanu took control of the match after play was interrupted by strange circumstances.

Attempting to serve at 40-0, Radukanu was forced to delay his serve several times due to noise from military aircraft taking part in the King’s Trooping the Color flypast in central London.

Once the Red Arrows flew over the west London club, Radukanu’s service wrapped up the game and covered the rest of the first set.

He is yet to drop a set in the tournament but now faces the prospect of needing to win two matches in one day to continue his impressive run this week.