Raducanu smiles on in defeat with Boulter

British pair enjoy the escape of doubles despite exit, but now face tough singles ties

- Tumaini Carayol

With a place in the semi-finals on her debut at Queen's hanging in the balance, Emma Raducanu flitted towards the net in an attempt to pluck a floating ball out of the air. She has effortlessly dispatched similar balls thousands of times, but on game point while a set down, her forehand drive volley landed closer to the back fence than the field of play.

Normally, she would react with frustration to such an easy miss on an important point. This, however, was only doubles. As she turned away and comically planted her palm on her face, she could not hide her smile. Katie Boulter, her doubles partner, laughed out loud.

It was that kind of day for Britain's two best women's tennis players as their enjoyable time at Queen's together was ended by Erin Routliffe and Lyudmyla Kichenok. The imperious first seeds closed them out 6-2, 7-5 despite a spirited fightback from the home pairing. Although they were outplayed, Boulter and Raducanu were smiling until the end.