Hours after Andy Murray had waved goodbye to The Championships, local teenager Emma Raducanu lifted British spirits with an astonishing performance on No.1 Court to storm into the second week at Wimbledon.

Making her Grand Slam debut at the All England Club, the 18-year-old world No.338 held her nerve impressively and defied a ranking gap of 293 spots to outplay the Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-3 7-5.

She is yet to drop a set and on Monday will face unseeded Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.

While the first hour on court will be remembered for Raducanu’s quality in all departments - her serving, returning, shotmaking and movement were all outstanding - the closing stages showcased her composure under pressure.

Incredibly, the wild card held three points for a set and 4-0 lead only for that advantage to vanish as Cirstea dug in. But the Briton refused to let that setback unsettle her and closed out the victory on her third match point to a standing ovation

“I’m just so so grateful for all the support that I had today,” said Raducanu, who was the lowest-ranked player in the ladies’ singles draw at the start of the tournament. “I really appreciate it. This is by far the biggest court I’ve played on.

“I think that I coped quite well. I was 3-1 down in the first set but I just tried to hold my nerve. You really got me through - in the second set, and the first set, the whole match really.

Reflecting on what it means to be into the second week of a Grand Slam on her first attempt, she joked: “It’s funny because when I was packing to come into the bubble my parents said ‘Aren’t you packing too many sets of match kit?’

“I think I’m going to have to do some laundry tonight but I think they have a laundry service at the hotel so I’m all good.”

The young Londoner only made her Tour debut in Nottingham last month but looked completely at ease as she strolled on to court on the stroke of 1pm.

Despite falling behind by an early break she quickly settled down and from 1-3 rattled off five games in a row to build a one-set lead.

When Cirstea found herself trailing 0-3 0-40 in the second it felt like the match was all but over, but once that game was salvaged the set turned into a thriller.

The Romanian fought off five break points in a 15-minute service game to level at 4-4, but even after those chances had slipped away Raducanu appeared unfazed and kept pushing for the line.

Cirstea held to stay in the match at 4-5 but couldn’t cling on any longer in a decisive 12th game.

The 31-year-old from Bucharest fought off two match points but her challenge ended when she netted a forehand after another enthralling exchange.

Raducanu, who was born in Toronto and has a Chinese mother and Romanian father, only sat her school A-Level exams in maths and economics in late April.

“I’ve actually received a few emails from my school teachers,” she told the world's media a couple of hours after coming off court. “My maths teacher emailed me today congratulating me. It's been great to receive messages from my schoolmates as well. They’ve been texting me.”

The youngster also talked about how her preparations the day before had helped her quickly settle into the No.1 Court environment.

“Yesterday I came out here and I sat courtside for about five minutes,” she said.

“They let me get a feel for the court, which I think was very valuable because when I went out there today, I sort of knew what to expect a little bit.

“I thought, ‘If I'm not going to enjoy Court 1 at Wimbledon, home crowd, like what are you going to enjoy?’ This is the cherry at the top of tennis.

“I was just so excited. When I heard the crowd roar for the first time, I was like, ‘Wow, they're so behind me.’ I was just feeding off their energy. I'm just so excited I get to play in front of them again.”

Click here to join myWimbledon for a range of exclusive benefits, including access to tickets and the ability to personalise your digital experience with us.

Following along from home this year?

You can still experience the classic Wimbledon atmosphere on the Virtual Hill, presented by our Official Partner American Express.

Register now to visit and win daily prizes, including tickets to The Championships 2022.