Tennis-Raducanu, Kartal and Tarvet get British Wimbledon charge off to flying start

By Mitch Phillips

LONDON (Reuters) -The biggest home assault on Wimbledon for 41 years got off to a great start on Monday when Sonay Kartal and Oliver Tarvet claimed upset wins and Emma Raducanu triumphed in an all-British clash.

British tennis is enjoying a buoyant period, and although former U.S. champion Raducanu and Jack Draper are making most of the headlines, there are 23 local players in the men's and women's singles this week, the most at Wimbledon since 1984.

Seven qualified directly through their top-100 world rankings, U.S.-based collegiate player Tarvet came through qualifying and a further 15 were handed wildcards.

With Draper not in action until Tuesday, British women's number one Raducanu was the main attraction, although home loyalties were somewhat split as she faced 17-year-old Welsh wildcard Mimi Xu, making her Grand Slam debut.

Xu had not beaten a top 50 player and never looked likely to break that duck on Number One court as she went down 6-3 6-3.

Raducanu, desperate for a deep run in her home slam after a previous best of two fourth-round exits, did not have to do anything too extraordinary against a rival who for a while seemed intimidated by the occasion.

After Xu swung wildly for a rare air shot and then tumbled to the pristine turf after a slip, the 318th-ranked teen got what no young player wants to hear - some sympathy applause.

Raducanu swept to the first set, dropping only three points in her four service games, and with a lack of tension on court, the obligatory “come on Britain” shout drew the usual ripple of Wimbledon laughter usually reserved for any lingering pigeon.

Xu settled in the second set, however, finally getting to grips with the Raducanu serve during a run of five successive breaks, but the favourite got back on track to come through.

FLYING START

Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Kartal were all in the top 50 last week, the first time three British women have been ranked that high since 1986, and Kartal got the day off to a flier by beating ex-French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2.

She fought back from 4-1 down to win the first set before Ostapenko, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2018 and quarter-finalist last year, hit back to take the second.

However, the Latvian's famed inconsistency showed up again in the third as Kartal stormed to a 5-0 lead and, after a minor wobble, finished it off.

"I was happy to be first up," Kartal said. "I guess the other (British) guys that are coming out can maybe get a bit of motivation from my win."

It was also a good day, though not as lucrative, for Tarvet as the British qualifier beat Switzerland's Leandro Riedi 6-4 6-4 6-4 for his first win in a Grand Slam tournament.

The 21-year-old's reward is a Centre Court meeting with holder Carlos Alcaraz but, win or lose, he will go home with only $10,000 plus expenses due to the rules surrounding student athletes in the United States, where he goes to college.

All other second-round losers will take home 99,000 pounds ($135,000) in prize money.

Britain's Cameron Norrie got past Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets and Bill Harris was an impressive straight-sets winner over Serbian Lucky Loser Dusan Lajovic, but British number two Jacob Fearnley went down in three against Brazil's Joao Fonseca.

Fourth seed Draper, one of 13 Britons in the men’s draw, is the biggest home hope since Andy Murray and kicks off his campaign against Argentine Sebastian Baez on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed Osmond and Ken Ferris)