Qinwen Zheng Beats Emma Raducanu in Queen's Club Quarterfinals

The vibes in London this week have been good for Emma Raducanu. She surpassed Katie Boulter to become the top-ranked British women's player and was powered by local fans through the first two rounds of the HSBC Championships at The Queen's Club.

However, all good stories must come to an end. The top-seeded Qinwen Zheng dismantled Raducanu in straight sets: 6-2, 6-4. Raducanu had a 4-2 lead in the second set before dropping four consecutive games.

Even worse, Raducanu's nagging back problems flared up again, as she had to take a medical timeout and receive treatment during the first set of the quarterfinal match.

Zheng tallied five aces and four double faults. She landed 56% of her first serves. The WTA World No. 5 won points on 74% and 44% of her first and second serves, respectively.

Raducanu hit aces and seven double faults. She landed 65% of her first serves. However, the former US Open champion won points on just 59% and 53% of her first and second serves, respectively.

The crowd at Queen's Club was clearly in favor of Raducanu. However, they still applauded Zheng for her masterful play after she advanced to her first semifinal on grass.

"It feels good. I remember the first year when I played on tour, no one supported me. I had to get through a lot of matches like that. Now, I get a lot of support. I can use this energy to play better tennis. I'm such a lucky girl," said Zheng.

Zheng improves to 19-9 this season and will face the winner of Emma Navarro and Anna Anisimova tomorrow morning in Andy Murray Arena.

Meanwhile, Raducanu falls to 15-12 on the season. She is expected to compete in Berlin next week at the German Open (a WTA 500 event) before Wimbledon later this month.

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