Emma Raducanu joked of how she tucked into a well-known chocolate bar in the locker room moments after her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka.

The irony. For how it would serve others well to ‘take a break’ – permanently – from an unnerving persistence at which they stoke the wild fire of scrutiny following her historic US Open triumph.

One reporter asked Cameron Norrie on Friday if he was dating his fellow Brit, who herself had already been quizzed on the extent of her relationship with Carlos Alcaraz. Norrie, primed mainly to discuss his win over Mattia Bellucci (obviously), was left baffled, but perhaps not surprised by the bold query personifying a circus that has somehow twisted iconic success into ugly, uncomfortable fish bowl pressure.

Norrie, to his credit, brushed the question off well. But nor he or she should have to brush off moments like that.

Even before the Wimbledon fortnight had started organisers were forced to block an attempt to buy tickets from a known stalker, who was previously handed a restraining order after following Raducanu to four successive tournaments and being removed from a match in Dubai.

Couple bizarre intrigue over her love life and stalking ordeals with wrist and ankle surgeries, further injury setbacks and the customary amplified weight of expectation as a British sporting star, and that Raducanu was merely able to frighten Sabalenka into something close to top gear is beyond an applaudable feat. But isn’t that the theme? The champion who dare not have a coaching set-up preference without being vilified, the champion who dare stray from contention despite consistent injury, the champion whose form dares to fluctuate, the champion who dare to not provide a headline.

Her colleagues and counterparts know it, too. Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova alluded to the “crazy” pressure that has suffocated the Raducanu journey since the US Open ahead of their second-round match earlier in the week. Few, if any, on tour can relate. The belief among most she faces remains that ‘she will be back’.

It is why Friday, even in defeat, Raducanu could afford to be buoyed by a self-reminder of her talents.

The roar was a tad louder. The groundstrokes were delivered with a touch more venom. The returning spark was teasing a more blinding flicker. And Wimbledon Centre Court was beginning to remember, realise, believe and adore once more.

A mammoth task would be defined by two rampant comebacks from Sabalenka as the world No 1 extinguished any prospect of a career-best – non-US Open final – victory for Raducanu on her way to a 7-6 6-4 win.

In spells Raducanu went toe-to-toe with the power and ferocity of her opponent. In spells she narrowed the chasm in form, rankings and success with beautiful touch, clever disguises to wrong-foot her rival, shrewd court movement and clinical passing shots on the run. In spells she matched the might of Sabalenka in all departments. For the duration, she was a main character, who will always draw and warrant the biggest crowd.

The depth of groundstrokes had been less consistent and troublesome than in her match against Vondrousova, but there were enough punches traded from the baseline to be encouraged. At one point it was noted on commentary how Raducanu had moved her striking position a few steps inside her baseline such was the aggression and confidence with which she was playing.

Watching on from her box was coach Mark Petchey, whose introduction has evidently made a difference since being brought on in a short-term capacity earlier this year. How his commentary commitments coincide with a potential future in the Raducanu camp remains to be seen as she now gears up for the US Open. But from early impressions, there is a winning formula brewing.

Raducanu had led 4-2 in the first set and then 4-1 in the second set, both occasions provoking an emphatic reply from Sabalenka, who turned up the heat on every stroke to conjure another level and underline just why she is a runaway favourite in most tournaments these days.

The Sabalenka unlocked by Raducanu would topple 90 per cent of the tour. Raducanu by her own admission didn’t believe she was ready to play at such a high level just yet. To trouble the world’s best as she did, and to be dealt the lesson by the world’s best as she was, was a welcome indication of where she is, combined with clear signs of elevating form over the past year. Sabalenka herself tipped Raducanu to make an eventual return to the top 10 in the world in a testament to the Brit’s performance.

But with it came an underlying, unspoken cry for measured optimism, desperate to avoid the untamed, snowballing hype that has warranted unfair forecasts in the past, most notably when she made history as the first male or female qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era. The depth of the women’s game is deep and contender-rich, where the cliche ‘anybody can beat anybody’ stands true with nobody quite grasping a monopoly on female Grand Slam dominance since Serena Williams’ departure. To contend consistently is hard, let alone with Sabalenkas walking the earth, let alone in the face of Raducanu’s external challenges.

A smiling, maybe reassured, Raducanu was the first to point towards areas for improvement in her game, while seemingly itching to return to a court of some kind to resume her fine work. She knew performances like that could and would endanger the best of her on-tour rivals.

Sure, she was boosted by the bright lights and cacophony of Centre Court pro-Raducanu noise, so the task, needn’t she be told, is how well she translates such high levels of tennis into a lesser environment. But that isn’t a new challenge, and by all accounts she is yet to have a sustained opportunity to try and do so without some form of stumbling block.

Her credentials as a ‘legitimate’ Grand Slam champion have been questioned in a world of ‘hot take’ sports. You do not win seven games at a major by chance.

In Friday came perhaps the most meaningful reminder yet of not only her primetime allure, but so too the top-10 calibre levels she is capable of reaching. In Friday came perhaps a reminder that the Raducanu story is still young, still developing, still with a way to go and still with some exciting chapters to follow.

Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.