After losing a tough three-setter at Eastbourne against the Australian teenager (and eventual winner) Maya Joint, Emma Raducanu said she needed to get her "head in the game" before Wimbledon.

And then fate dealt the 22-year-old a daunting draw at her home Grand Slam – a Battle of the Brits encounter against teenager Mimi Xu in the first round, with the 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova and world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka looming as potential second- and third-round opponents.

Composed and good-humoured, Raducanu was blunt about her prospects on the eve of the tournament she enters as the British No.1.

"Truthfully, I don't expect much from myself this year. I just want to go out there and embrace the occasion. There aren’t many opportunities to be playing at Wimbledon. You get it once a year and for a finite amount of time. I'm just looking forward to going out there and feeling the surroundings and the atmosphere. It's a great privilege to be part of the Brits here."

In Mimi Xu – a 17-year-old making her Wimbledon main draw debut on a wild card – Raducanu has the mirror image of her own memorable arrival in 2021, when she went on to become the youngest British woman in the Open Era to reach the last 16 at The Championships.

Yes, it really is four years since the A-level student from Bromley in Kent burst into the public consciousness with that exhilarating run into the fourth round, charming spectators with a sort of bemused joyfulness in her unheralded heroics.

"I think it’s a very dangerous match, very difficult,’ she said. ‘Mimi is a really, really good player. I’ve practised with her a few times. She has a lot of weapons. She also moves really well. It's going to be a really different match.

"For her, it's one where there's nothing to lose. I remember when I had my first Wimbledon here and I was 18. It's a great feeling. You just feel, like, completely fearless.

"So I think for me it's going to be a challenge, but one that I'm looking forward to and I'm ready for."

At the ripe old age of 22, the 2021 US Open champion now looks back and says: "It does feel like a long time ago. I mean, a lot has happened in the last four years.

"It's good to see a new generation. It keeps us hungry to improve. It's healthy competition between all of us. I know I'm going to have to bring a really good level of tennis on Monday if I want to get through it."

While staging a win-win situation for the home crowd, both players have a bond through their Chinese heritage. "Mimi's mom has always been really nice to me. I speak to her in Chinese. It's good practice for me. I get to try and improve my Mandarin," Raducanu laughed.

"I hit with her a few times at the NTC [National Tennis Centre], especially at the end of last year during the pre-season. Really good hits, really difficult. She's also a really nice girl. I got to know her at the Fed Cup last year. It will be interesting to play her on Monday…"

On a long-term basis, things look sunny for Raducanu. She has recently regained the British No.1 crown from Katie Boulter. She’s slowly but surely climbed up to a WTA ranking of world No.38, while working hard to build up and protect her fitness. She’s dealing with physical issues philosophically. 

Her back? "I wouldn't say it’s 100 per cent, but a lot of the time with tennis players nothing is ever 100 per cent. So I’m just taking it as it comes."

Having played a more consistent string of matches coming into Wimbledon this year, she’s expressed pride in some gutsy three-set wins and notched up places in the quarter-finals at the Miami Open (beating world No.10 Emma Navarro on the way) and at Queen’s. 

Most recently, of course, she has relished the excitement of being asked by Carlos Alcaraz to partner him in the mixed doubles at the US Open. As she says herself, enjoyment and the freedom to express herself on court is the key. Is there any truth behind the rumours of their special friendship?

"We're just good friends," she smiled. "I think we can probably wrap it up there," said the interview room moderator.

"Way to wrap up!" quipped Raducanu.