Emma Raducanu knocked out of Wimbledon in shock defeat as New Zealand qualifier makes history
Emma Raducanu has lost to Lulu Sun
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Emma Raducanu has been knocked out of Wimbledon after suffering a shock defeat to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun in the fourth round.
Raducanu ensured all her focus was on today's singles match against Sun by pulling out of the mixed doubles match she had scheduled with Andy Murray.
The young British star complained of 'stiffness' in her wrist having undergone surgery little over a year ago.
There was no signs of the wrist causing her issue during practice on Sunday morning with Liam Broady and spirits were high between the two compatriots.
Emma Raducanu has lost to Lulu Sun
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With Raducanu's side of the draw opening up as several top seeds continued to drop, there was growing optimism of an even deeper run at her home slam.
She was the strong favourite to come through against qualifier Sun, who was playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for just the second time in her career.
Raducanu knows all too well how dangerous someone coming through the qualifiers can be gone through the exact same route for her historic US Open win back in 2021.
And Sun didn't take long on Centre Court to stun the former British No 1 and silence the British crowd.
The New Zealander quickly went a double-break up to take a 3-0 lead before Raducanu pulled one back.
But Raducanu still didn't look comfortable with her game while Sun was unrelenting with her wicked forehand and impressive play at the net causing the Brit all kinds of problems.
Sun then regained her double-break advantage before serving out for the set with a huge upset on the cards.
Raducanu had to try and refocus and looked far more solid at the start of the second set before creating two good opportunities to break her opponent's serve in the fourth game.
The 21-year-old wasted both as Sun held with both players beginning to grow weary from their long rallies.
Raducanu had to repeatedly battle on her own serve to stay in the set, but she managed to dig deep and held off two break points with some brave shots in a tight seventh game.
Both players were doing enough to stay in the set, but more unforced errors were creeping into Sun's game and it ended up costing her dearly in the end.
Emma Raducanu struggled to cope with Lulu Sun in the first set
REUTERS
The New Zealand star was serving to stay in the set when Raducanu opened up one break point and Sun sent a forehand long with a decider needed to separate them.
Raducanu was struggling once again to find an opening on her opponent's serve and the 23-year-old put herself in prime position of pulling off a huge upset when she secured a double break, leaving her serving for the match.
The British sensation threatened a late fight back as she had two break points and saved one match point.
But Sun eventually got the job done to knock Raducanu out after the Brit sent a return long.
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It's the first time a Kiwi player has made it through to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in the women's singles draw.
The furthest a qualifier has progressed in a singles draw at Wimbledon is the semi-finals on three separate occasions.
John McEnroe and Vladimir Voltchkov reached the semi-finals of the men's singles draw in 1977 and 2000 respectively.
Alexandra Stevenson is the only woman to have reached that stage of Wimbledon having achieved the feat back in 1999.