Ruthless Raducanu powers into Queen's final

Britain's Emma Raducanu produced two superb victories in a day at Queen's to reach her first grass-court final.

Raducanu overcame an injury scare to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 7-5 in her weather-delayed quarter-final early on Saturday afternoon.

She returned to Andy Murray Arena a little over two and a half hours later and dispatched highly-rated American teenager Iva Jovic 6-2 6-2.

The British number one, who went into Queen's seeking to regain her top form after a season disrupted by illness and injury, jumped for joy on sealing her victory as the crowd rose to applaud her.

She has not dropped a set on her run to the final and has thrived on the pressure of being the home favourite, beating two players ranked in the world's top 20.

"It means everything to be doing this here at Queen's," Raducanu told BBC TV. "The whole day has been electric.

"This week has been incredible, I really enjoy playing here and that shows in my tennis.

"Ask any British player and they would love to lift the title here. We've been through some tough moments in the last few months but we have been putting in the hard work and I want to thank my team for helping me get into the final."

Raducanu, ranked 42nd, will seek to win her first WTA Tour title on Sunday in a match you can watch live on the BBC from 13:15 BST.

The quality of Raducanu's performance reminded former British number one Annabel Croft of her US Open triumph as a qualifier five years ago.

After a troubled season the Briton reunited with Andrew Richardson, the man who helped her claim that historic title, in a bid to move up the rankings.

"I haven't seen Emma strike the ball as well as this since the US Open," said Croft on BBC TV. "It was a tougher semi-final than the scoreline suggests but she has been the one who has been mentally stronger.

"There was such resilience from her, it was flawless. The level was extraordinarily high at the start from both of them but Emma always had the upper hand, especially with her serve.

"She didn't back away from any tough moments and turned games around when she was struggling."

However, Katie Boulter's hopes of making it an all-British final were ended with a straight-sets loss to Croatia's Donna Vekic.

Boulter won two matches on Friday, including a superb victory over world number two Elena Rybakina in her quarter-final.

But the 29-year-old, perhaps feeling the effects of her efforts from the previous day, struggled from the start of her semi-final and fell to a disappointing 6-1 6-3 defeat in 66 minutes.

Raducanu had her left thigh strapped after slipping on the grass while changing direction in the fifth game of the second set of her quarter-final.

After going off court for treatment she returned to close out the match but only after some difficult moments where she needed the encouragement of her coaching team in the crowd.

Any concerns that the injury might cause her problems in the semi-final were soon allayed as Raducanu made a superb start by holding to love.

Raducanu broke Jovic's serve in the fourth game with a blistering forehand and rammed home her advantage by holding serve with another rasping shot across the court.

With Jovic perhaps feeling the pressure in a high-quality match, Raducanu powered her way to the first set.

The Briton kept up her standards in the second set, breaking Jovic's serve in the second game before Jovic began to fight back.

The American had chances to break back in the fifth and seventh games but on both occasions Raducanu held her nerve to keep her lead and she completed victory shortly afterwards.