Sabalenka is eyeing her first on the pristine lawns in London after missing last year's tournament with injury.

Aryna Sabalenka was given a real scare but battled her way past Emma Raducanu in front of a raucous Centre Court crowd. The atmosphere was heightened by the closing of the roof and Raducanu provided those in attendance with plenty to get behind, as she went toe-to-toe with the world number one over two hours.

Nevertheless, the home crowd cheered for Raducanu as her Wimbledon campaign and grass court season ended. During her post-match press conference, Raducanu was still visibly upset about how she failed to execute, but still saw the silver lining in her performance.