For all the noise and support for Emma Raducanu inside Centre Court - which at times made the 100-year-old stadium sound as though it was hosting a teenage house party - the Briton couldn't deal with the aggressive tennis from Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.

Garcia could hardly have been more complimentary about Raducanu before their second round match, describing the US Open champion as "a worldwide phenomenon in every way", but she wasn't exactly holding or standing back out there on the grass.

She was frequently stepping inside the baseline to return serve, she was swinging away and going for her shots and she was coming to net whenever possible. Put that all together and this was a dominant, assured performance from Garcia in the swirl of Centre Court, the world No.55 winning 6-3, 6-3 to go through into the last 32.

Most of the 15,000 spectators inside Centre Court were willing on Raducanu, but she couldn't stay with an opponent she had beaten earlier this year at the Indian Wells tournament in the Californian desert.

It was just two days ago that Raducanu played on Centre Court for the first time. But while she didn't look at all fazed by playing on the grandest stage of all, what she couldn't cope with was her opponent's attacking tennis.

Watching Garcia take on Raducanu, you would never have thought that she had twice been two points from defeat in her opening round against British wild card Yuriko Miyazaki.

Raducanu's build-up to The Championships had been less than ideal - she played just seven games because of a side strain injury she picked up in Nottingham - and that was undoubtedly a factor in her defeat.

Having dealt with Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round, Raducanu once again found herself playing an opponent whose preparations had been markedly smoother than her own, and who is far more accomplished on grass than her ranking might suggest.

She took a philisophical view of her defeat. “Obviously it’s tough to lose any match," Raducanu said, "but it’s OK because, coming into this, I didn’t really have many expectations of myself." 

Garcia had walked on to Centre Court unbeaten in six matches, with five of those victories coming on the way to the title on the grass of Bad Homburg in Germany. And while she is currently ranked outside the world's top 50, she has been as high as fourth (Andy Murray was close, all those years ago, when he predicted she was a future No.1).

While the conditions weren't the easiest, with the wind moving the ball about, the Frenchwoman managed to play with purpose and aggression. She was the one imposing herself on the points, and the one who controlled the opening set.

Raducanu left the court for a bathroom break before the second set. Perhaps that could have presented her with a chance to gather herself and change the narrative of the match. But Garcia kept on coming, kept on going for it, and she was a deserving winner.

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