Emma Raducanu serves up straight-sets drubbing to Queen’s qualifier as former US Open champion books her spot in the second round after doubles success

Emma Raducanu thrashed qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-1, 6-2 as she began her singles campaign at Queen’s on Tuesday afternoon. 

The former US Open champion spoke of her love of small courts after her box-office doubles partnership with Katie Boulter was buried on Court One on Monday due to television rights obligations, but she looked more than at home on the newly named Andy Murray Arena. 

So comfortable, in fact, that looming concerns over a back injury suffered in the build-up appeared a world away on Tuesday afternoon, as Raducanu had as an easy a time as her compatriot Boulter had toiled against Ajla Tomljanovic in the earlier match. 

While Bucsa does not register as one of her most fearsome opponents to date, the world No116 was unable to lay a glove on Raducanu – who, if she can make a deep run at The Queen’s Club, could go into Wimbledon as British No1 again. 

After gritting her teeth to hold onto her serve in the third game, Raducanu was scarcely troubled in the first set as she planted her flag firmly on the tournament’s centre court, with the player noting after the match she was ‘particularly locked in’ in the afternoon sunshine. 

Raducanu looked particularly confident at pace, claiming the first break of the match with a lightly popped backhand volley that Bucsa, mercilessly dragged across all four corners of the court, hadn’t a hope of reaching. 

Another on-the-run forehand and a string of flashing baseline winners made Bucsa look out of place wherever she positioned herself, with Raducanu sprinting to the finish of the opening set as if she had a train to catch. 

When Raducanu plays like this, it can be a challenge not to get carried away thinking of her miraculous rise to prominence. Should she ever hope to match that undreamed-of US Open win, beating a doubles specialist who has gone through two rounds of qualifying like Bucsa will only be the first step of many, but you can only play the opponent in front of you. Raducanu did so like a tornado ripping up a frontier town. 

In front of an appreciative home crowd, Raducanu started the second set as comfortably as she had won the first, and was only tested for the first time five games in. Bucsa’s first hold for some time was hard fought, but after an exchange of advantages, the Spaniard could walk back to her chair after the game with her head a little higher after serving up a zippy ace to finally claim it. 

But a remontada this was not; although Bucsa had Raducanu beaten after pushing her into a deep cross-court backhand before wafting a drop shot into acres of empty court for 30-30, and proved nettlesome as Raducanu’s service level briefly dropped. But after pulling off the sticky hold for 5-1, winning the match on her racquet was child’s play. 

Raducanu may have tried to play down British hopes with warnings of her ‘pretty low expectations’ in west London, but she will have a harder time convincing Tuesday’s crowd after performances like this.