(Tennis news) Emma Raducanu succumbed to a  6-3 6-3 second round defeat to Caroline Garcia at Wimbledon’s centre-court. The 19 year old clearly lacked match fitness after being sidelined for three weeks due to a side strain and could not match Garcia’s intensity during the 86 minute encounter. Raducanu will participate in the US Open next, where she famously won the title as a qualifier and insisted that she doesn’t feel the pressure from the expectations placed on her.

Speaking after the match, Raducanu said “There's no pressure. Like, why is there any pressure? I'm still 19. Like, it's a joke. I literally won a Slam. Going back to New York, it's going to be cool because I have got a lot of experience playing on big courts, playing with people in the stadium, playing with the spotlight on you. I don't mind that. For me, everything is learning. I'm embracing every single moment that is thrown at me." 

Making her first appearance on Centre Court, Caroline Garcia said “I was preparing for this match really well. Emma is a huge player and in her home tournament she proved she can do very well on the big stage. It's fair that they support Emma and of course is a great memory for me." Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko defeated Anhelina Kalinina 3-6 6-4 6-3 in two hours and 30 minutes. Showing solidarity with her country, Tsurenko wore a yellow and blue ribbon and both the players were well supported by the crowd on Court 12. 

In other results, Harriet Dart progressed to the second round with a 6-1 6-4 win over Rebeka Masarova. The result meant that she became the 10th British player to progress into round two and will now face eighth seed Jessica Pegula. Second seed Anett Kontaveit was also knocked out of Wimbledon by Jule Niemeier 6-4 6-0. After the victory, 22 year old Niemeier said “It's amazing. It's one of the greatest wins of my career so far. I love to play on grass… it suits my game." 

Also read: Wimbledon: Andy Murray gets knocked out while Djokovic secures win