Wimbledon day five: Sonay Kartal leads British hopes after Emma Raducanu exit

You can sometimes sense the weight of expectation walking around a sporting venue, the excitement around the prospect of a career breakthrough. Emma Raducanu’s US Open triumph now feels so far in the rear view mirror that any semblance of a return to those great heights will always be enthusiastically welcomed, and how could you not be swept along by the good vibes from her comprehensive win over the 2023 Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová in the second round. 

There was no questioning Raducanu’s resilience or aggression in that win, as has been the case in the past. “One of the best matches I’ve played in a long time,” Raducanu said afterwards, and she had a point, setting up a benchmark contest with Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one. 

Raducanu against lower-ranked players this year has been very good, with a 14-3 record. The less said about her record against top five players the better, but, a win over Sabalenka, indisputably the world’s top player, would certainly help to rewrite the narrative that Raducanu cannot live with the best in the game, and provide everyone with the clearest indication that this version of Raducanu - resilient, confident, thriving in this coaching partnership with Mark Petchey - can xdevelop into the dominant force everyone imagined she could become after that stunning triumph at Flushing Meadows.

The fifth game of the first set. Maybe that was the moment where the penny dropped for Raducanu that she could indeed live with the best, breaking Sabalenka’s serve.

A 5-4 lead for the world No 1 immediately felt like an ominous trap for Raducanu to try and escape from. Six saved set points later - yes, six - and she somehow slipped free, when perhaps recent versions of Raducanu would have wilted in the same situation. 

This felt different. Raducanu slipped, sat on Centre Court for a moment, dusted herself down before getting up to break Sabalenka for a second time. And while Sabalenka duly broke back and went on to clinch the tightest of tie-breakers to clinch must have been the set of the tournament so far, it still felt as though Raducanu genuinely had a chance. That was different too. You would be here forever if you started picking out brilliant individual shots, but one Raducanu forehand winner was dispatched with such ferocity it almost made you wince.

There is nothing subtle about Sabalenka and that is a good thing, every noise and facial expression delivering excellent entertainment. Anyone who has ever tried to hit a serve could relate to her wobble at the start of the second set when Raducanu struck with an early break. Her subsequent recovery to win the match was no shock. Too powerful, too good.

Of course this was not the outcome Raducanu wanted, but it never felt like number one against number forty in the world. For the most part it was two peers, scrapping it out to see who would be left standing. There is real encouragement to be taken from that, even if Raducanu relinquishing a 4-1 lead in the second set showed how much further there is to go.

That same weight of expectation which Raducanu has carried for so long does not seem to phase Sonay Kartal. It is quite a skill to play any sport in front of thousands of people and look as though there is no weight on your shoulders whatsoever. Kartal, externally at least, seems to have that trait. The quiet resilience she continues to show in this championship is easy to admire, winning her new fans at a rapid pace.

Trailing 1-4 in the first set to Diane Parry, playing in her second-ever appearance on No 1 Court at Wimbledon? Not a problem. Kartal rarely celebrates points or games and there are absolutely no over-the-top displays of emotion. She greeted winning that first set 6-4, a five-game swing, with the same kind of reaction you would produce having successfully put out the bins.

Last year as a qualifier ranked 298th in the world, Kartal reached the third round and was knocked out 6-4, 6-0 by Coco Gauff on No 1 Court. A year later, back on the same court although admittedly against a far lesser opponent, she stormed into the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. “I think I left that court last year feeling like I didn't play my best level because of the nerves I was carrying. I think today I just wanted to just try my best, to put [the nerves] aside as best as I could,” Kartel revealed afterwards. Mission accomplished. With victory secured she stood still, arms aloft with a beaming smile. There was a lot to like but the consistency of her returns, landing in 80 per cent, and power in her forehand were both key weapons.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, victorious earlier on against Naomi Osaka, is up next. How Kartal’s calm exterior meshes with the growing excitement around her potential will be worth monitoring, but her lack of histrionics on court feels refreshing. There was the odd chant of “Come on Sonny” but hardly an abundance, mainly because it never felt like she needed them, oozing calm and control. Her only moment of indecision appeared to come in her on-court post-match interview, deliberating the subject matter for her next tattoo.

Cam Norrie’s hopes of joining Kartal in the next round hardly looked great after he was broken twice inside the first three games of his match with Italy’s Mattia Bellucci but again, like Kartal, he rallied impressively. Who knows if Norrie can become the top-ten force from a few years ago again. His Wimbledon record is weird, a one-time semi-finalist while otherwise failing to make it past the third round. Until today. This straight-sets win never felt overly comfortable but Norrie’s stronger serve, break point saves and lower error count than Bellucci saw him through. Following his run to the fourth round of the French Open a few weeks ago, there are signs of a genuine resurgence, one which Norrie would love to continue on No 1 Court if he gets his preference to play on a happy hunting ground again.

Norrie and Kartal will now carry British interests forward in the singles, but Raducanu should feel encouraged.