Sun shines again! Kiwi makes Wimbledon Quarters

By Cameron McMillan

A first Sunday appearance at Wimbledon became Lulu Sun’s day as the Kiwi continued her stunning run from qualifying to advancing to the quarter-finals.

Playing in the second week for the first time and making her maiden appearance on centre court, the Kiwi 23-year-old was cool and composed throughout in a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over British hometown favourite Emma Radacanu in a match that lasted almost three hours.

After being a set down in the second round of qualifying, Sun is now two sets away from a semifinal spot at the grand slam.

Sun is the first qualifier to reach the final eight at Wimbledon since 2010 and is the first New Zealand female to get as far as the quarter-finals on the famous grass courts. And based on her strong service and volley game today it wouldn’t be a shock that her run doesn’t stop when she faces world number 37 Donna Vekic of Croatia on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals.

Sun is looking to emulate Raducanu, who was the first qualifier to win a grand slam when she won three qualifying rounds and seven main-draw matches to claim the US Open in 2021.

“It was a great match. Emma she really digged deep there. I really had to fight tooth and nail to get the win. She’s obviously going to run for every ball and fight until the end. I’m just incredibly... I just don’t have the words right now,” a tearful Sun said in her post-match interview.

“I’m super happy to play on this court in front of all of you, it’s just such an amazing experience for me,” Sun said on playing on centre court for the first time, despite the fact the crowd was urging Raducanu on throughout every point in the match.

Sun is the first qualifier in 14 years to reach the quarter-final stage in the women’s draw, the last being Kaia Kanepi in 2010.

The Te Anau-born Sun earns £375,000 ($782,056) should her run end at the the final eight, her biggest payday of her young career. She played aggressively and calmly throughout with 52 winners to 19, although that brought 44 unforced errors in her risk-or-reward approach.

With a strong home crowd backing Raducanu, the left-handed Kiwi silenced the fans with two early breaks to go out to a 3-0 lead.

Raducanu broke back on a Sun double fault in the fourth game and cut the lead back to 3-2. But the 23-year-old Sun, playing in her first fourth round at a grand slam, broke for a third time in the seventh game. She then served strong to take out the opening set.

With a 15-2 winners count in her favour, Sun dominated the opening set. She continued her strong serve and volley game in the second set and barely gave Raducanu a look-in until the former US Open winner made the most of a break point in the 12 game to take the set 7-5.

Raducanu took a medical timeout in the opening game of the third set after looking to hyper-extend her left knee. In a lengthy break she also had work done on her back by a physio she appeared to trouble her through the opening two sets. The delay didn’t affect Sun who had amazing composure throughout the match. She broke Raducanu upon her return to the court and then found a second break to lead 5-2.

Serving for the match again didn’t seem to faze Sun. She didn’t convert her first match point chance and held off a Raducanu break point before claiming victory on her second opportunity.

The Kiwi’s amazing run through the Wimbledon qualifying rounds and three rounds of the main draw is the best by a New Zealand female in the Open era – and matches Dame Ruia Morrison who reached the fourth round in 1957 and 1959.

The last New Zealander to reach the fourth round of the singles draw at Wimbledon was Brett Steven in 1997, where he was defeated by eventual finalist Cedric Pioline, while Belinda Cordwell was the last Kiwi woman to reach a grand slam fourth round (Australian Open 1988 and 1989).

How Lulu Sun has reached the last eight at Wimbledon
Qualifying first round: Beat Miriam Bulgaru 6-2, 6-1

Qualifying second round: Beat Gabriela Knutson 4-6 6-6 7-6 (6)

Qualifying third round: Beat Alexandra Eala 7-6 (3), 7-5

First round: Beat Qinwen Zheng 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

Second round: Beat Yuliia Starodubtseva 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Third round: Beat Lin Zhu 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6)

Fourth round: Beat Emma Raducanu 6-2, 5-7, 6-2

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission