Stock Photo Woman Standing 2024-07-03 Stock Photo Woman Standing - Last update images today Stock Photo Woman Standing Avalanche Bringing Back Drouin On 1-year Deal A "nervous" Emma Raducanu has said that she took inspiration from England's dramatic 2-1 victory over Slovakia in the European Championship round of 16 after she won on her return to Wimbledon on Monday. The former US Open champion was tested by her opponent, Renata Zarazúa, and forced to work hard for a straight-sets victory against the world No. 98. England booked their spot in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals on Sunday after Jude Bellingham's overhead kick in injury time saved Gareth Southgate's team from elimination after a lacklustre performance. "I'm incredibly happy to be back here, of course. And today it was, I mean, I was for sure nervous," Raducanu, who wore an England shirt to her practice session at Wimbledon on Sunday, told the BBC. "I think everyone could see that in my tennis a little bit, but at the end of the day, you have to just do what it takes to get over the line. And honestly, watching the football last night, it was like: Winning ugly... It all counts." Zarazúa had stepped in to face Raducanu at late notice as the lucky loser after No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who she had originally been drawn to face, withdrew from the tournament with illness. "I found out at like 10.30 today and for the last three days we've been planning, playing, setting up practices with similar opponents and then all of a sudden, yeah, it's a change of plan," Raducanu said of Alexandrova's withdrawal. "So it took a little bit of adjusting and finding my feet. But yeah, I just want to say thank you to everyone for the support in some crucial moments and yeah, I really enjoyed playing back." Monday's match was Raducanu's first at Wimbledon since 2022 after she missed last year's championships while recovering from operations on both wrists and an ankle. Zarazúa sought to test Raducanu's fitness by building long rallies interspersed with regular drop shots that tested the Brit's ability to get around the court. But Raducanu found form in the second set, eventually dispatching the Mexican 7-6(0), 6-3 to the delight of the home crowd in south west London. Asked about the atmosphere at Centre Court, Raducanu said: "It's incredible. I think that's just such a great buzz in the summer time, although today's a little bit cloudy, but I think the tennis, the football, the Formula One, everything, and I think that it just really uplifts [everyone], myself included. "I think it's such an amazing atmosphere to be a part of. And honestly, my motivation is just to keep coming back here and being able to keep playing and feel that buzz." 661e912965ed2e3586d7257cff18a334 Ba5591b2a0a0eb6aa94905a000156766 4ada8290e3d2d503da8864637fe3a28c Woman With A Smartphone Standing 0010 Watermarked Freestock 6184546 5d6ba4df86e39361ce8bb5713016a425 8427488d7da404e0fbad4ffc08c3d097 A05b2b91731ecc850100f50ad049fc46 5b6f694bc16422afb96798fb02b1e26d 520bf7cd3d0a64d1a72e2bf0fa591acd 3d456f926192b3a6d25ea1aa17ff5937 E5eec29e0bf609df09714bdc93598cda Fa877f7e213893fad8562d6aa53486d9 4ab65f498b2a812416bf8ff1f86d62ca 650d99d41073f3255d817e76f016fb55 1c72b310d0baee3db27112a4cc3480a6 3e505cdc6389e761960323282331c126 Fb07a41013710c9b4d43cefd864f65a5 5d3edd0bd6b236899426c47145a6fe3b 00f0ccd66e192e8a9f9041bab71fa1c2 F39d0ee0fb89bd5014dde8b2b024ec1a C4e8b47c1c3b9039e57fdc6dee20633c 50cdbe3f48874740dd7e7b5e20171083 F7ba2f3e96d8cf5ceb9b4ecb8eaf9a25 B8ab156b5db9ade466f84e9a4b78e73f Eb4f33097084910e453671820a596232 75bcd3599fc4ff4450f1399589c40096 Cc887e0c8b386a9d6ec234b3185636ec 44c9ec14435ff577efd7564621bb3eb2 0f208ad3e5a4d35dab42278feb957019 Ef2c9d9d402a3ecc3f39baee81d3b9c6 47a8335d5acb6d89dacee80d43d3f44b 0993d8e5b7725133e509d66e29e54aa7 5c31ea422be98598dc09d1882d3fcb23 A69aba67aba56421c41ee4ee7a3500e7