LONDON — Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu said that she is back to her best after the British star won twice in the space of just six hours to earn a Queen's Club final clash with Croatia's Donna Vekic.
Raducanu reached the first grass-court final of her career by thrashing American sixth seed Iva Jovic, 6-2, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London on Saturday.
The 23-year-old had already defeated Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-3, 7-5, in the quarterfinals earlier, in a match briefly halted by the deafening noise caused by airplanes taking part in the royal "Trooping the Colour" flyover in the capital.
A slip in the second set of that quarterfinal had sparked concern about Raducanu's fitness after she emerged from a medical break with her left thigh wrapped in heavy tape.
But the world number 42 played the semifinal with a smaller patch in the same location and moved comfortably enough to demolish the 18-year-old Jovic.
Raducanu has not dropped a set on route to the final, beating two players ranked in the world's top 20.
"It means everything to be doing this here at Queen's. The whole day has been electric," Raducanu said.
Raducanu is one win away from her first title since lifting the US Open trophy after her stunning triumph as a qualifier in 2021.
She has appeared revitalized since her decision last month to rehire Andrew Richardson, the man who coached her to that historic title in New York five years ago.
After first parting company with Richardson, Raducanu had cycled through a host of coaches without success in a bid to recapture the glory of her run at the US Open.
Raducanu has not reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since her US Open victory.
Croatian world No. 76 Vekic beat Britain's Katie Boulter, 6-1, 6-3, in the other semifinal, extending her unexpected run at a tournament she only entered as a "lucky loser" when another player pulled out.
