Emma Raducanu takes inspiration from England’s Euros effort in opening Wimbledon win

With retired English soccer great David Beckham watching on, Emma Raducanu said she took some inspiration from his former club in her first Wimbledon victory in two years.

While Raducanu was never close to the brink of defeat in her 7-6(0), 6-3 win over Mexican lucky loser Renata Zarazua—unlike England, which trailed until stoppage time in what was eventually a 2-1 Round of 16 win over unheralded Slovakia at the European championships on Sunday—she found herself drawing parallels between her performances and that of the Three Lions anyway.

“I was for sure nervous, I think everyone could see it in my tennis a little bit, but at the end of the day, you just have to do what it takes to get over the line," Raducanu said in her on-court post-match interview.

"Honestly, watching the football last night … it was like winning ugly. It all counts!”

Raducanu told reporters after the match that the late switch in opponent required an adjustment in more ways than one. She was due to face No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in her Centre Court return, before the Russia withdrew a few hours before the match due to illness.

Alexandrova is an adept grass-court player (she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon a year ago, and has won the warm-up tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch twice) and primarily offensive-minded, while Zarazua is a defensive-minded player whose affinity for changing the pace, height and speed of the ball routinely left Raducanu befuddled. She lost a 4-1 lead in the first set, at one point trailing 5-4, and hit 30 unforced errors to just 17 winners.

“I don't think it was perfect tennis. It wasn't clean, beautiful ball striking. It was just about managing the opponent and managing the fight and the circumstances,” Raducanu later told reporters.

But the Brit didn't just channel her compatriots to earn a fifth career Wimbledon main-draw victory, which was sweeter after she missed the tournament last year following surgery on both wrists and an ankle: She also drew inspiration from a famous American coach, and a mantra that he first parlayed into written word three decades ago.

"It's that classic tennis book 'Winning Ugly,' … I think it's just so true,” she continued, invoking Brad Gilbert's 1993 bestseller. “Especially in the opening round of a Slam where there's so much nerves that go through it, I would say to get through is just really big and important. I think it was a real show of character for me.”

The US Open champion will next look to advance to the third round of a major for the first time since her seminal moment in New York three summers ago when she faces Elise Mertens.