‘We haven’t seen anything yet’: Fans lament Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon exit

Emma Raducanu fans have said we “haven’t seen anything yet” after the teenage sensation and Sir Andy Murray were devastatingly dumped from Wimbledon.

Seven British singles players are still standing in what remains the UK’s best run at SW19 since 1984.

Of six in action on Thursday, Katie Boulter, 25, is first up on Centre Court against Czech Karolina Pliskova, while also playing are Jack Draper, 20, of Sutton, Twickenham’s Alastair Gray, 24, and Harriet Dart, 25, from West Hampstead.

Heather Watson, 30, and Liam Broady, 28, are also in action.

Cameron Norrie, 26, is scheduled to make his return to the hallowed grass courts on Friday.

British No1 and US Open champion Raducanu, from Bromley, was defeated by France’s Caroline Garcia on Wendesday night.

She has been battling a side strain that severely disrupted her preparations but remains upbeat, saying: “It’s OK because, coming into this, I didn’t really have many expectations of myself.”

Tennis fan Nathan Williams-Allen, 17, from Kent, who trained with Raducanu when they were young, willed her on to greatness.

He said: “It’s all the pressure on her, like social media, is why she’s losing.

Watch: Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray both start Wimbledon with Centre Court victories

“At the US Open, she had no pressure, she was relaxed. But now everyone thinks she has to do well, she can get nervous.”

Maggie Parkes, 64, from Worthing, West Sussex, added: “We haven’t seen anything yet. Emma’s still very young and the one to watch.”

Meanwhile, Susan McCormack, 60, from Maidenhead, said: “It’s just a blip, I think. Definitely she’ll bounce back.”

Draper’s coach James Trotman, of the Lawn Tennis Association, says the British advance at Wimbledon was “no overnight fluke”.

He added colleagues have been maximising talented youngsters’ potential for many years across its national academies and European tournaments.

Mr Trotman said identifying which of the record Brits in the world top 200 to develop and push higher is key to success.

He told the Standard: “We’re in a great place and it’s exciting.

“Any successful sporting organisation needs to constantly adapt and see what’s working. At the moment, everything is great.

“British tennis has seen continuity across the board – great players and coaches, and they’re pushing each other along.

“Young players have people to look up to and there’s depth across men’s and women’s tennis, all competing at the highest level.”

He said of Draper, who faces Boutler’s Australian boyfriend Alex de Minaur, 23, on Court 1 this afternoon: “Jack’s got a huge upside to him.

“We are making sure he’s very clear about what he wants to achieve, banking all of those sessions to give him the career and bigger picture that he’s looking for.”

Mr Trotman believes there is a “fantastic atmosphere” among the Brits, adding: “This hasn’t happened overnight, it’s not a fluke - this group have been working well for the last two or three years.

“There’s no secret to success, it’s just doing the basics well on a daily basis.

“All of these guys are competing and very serious about what they are doing.”

David Sammel, who coaches Broady, said: “There are British players who are going to make their mark this tournament. If they can get to the third round, they start to become dangerous.”

He added on Raducanu: “I think Emma hasn’t quite found her way in coping with what is essentially a major achievement in winning the US Open.

“She is young and talented. You can never ever rule out anybody who’s won something that big from coming back and being an absolute star player.”