Not since she won the US Open in 2021 has Emma Raducanu won two games in a row at a Grand Slam.

Maybe not since she lifted that title three years ago has she played with such confidence and swagger on the big stage.

Raducanu, 21, breezed past Belgium’s Elise Mertens and into the third round at Wimbledon for just the second time with a straight sets win of 6-1 6-2.

The British star may have shown some nerves in her opening win of the tournament against lucky loser Renata Zarazua but she was in total control here from the off.

Not even going behind 0-30 in the opening game caused concern. She won the next four points impeccably.

Mertens, the World No 33, had a sniff in the odd game in the first set but Raducanu rarely gave her hope apart from in the solitary one which was victorious.

A superb shot across court with a forehand to make it 4-0 was arguably the highlight of some fine tennis.

The Canadian-born Brit’s serve was also impressive as she powered through games, surviving a break point to close out the opening set.

Raducanu chose to skip the French Open to get ready for the grass court season and it’s a decision which looks to be working out.

She grabbed her first victory over a top 10 opponent in Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne and also reached the semi-final at Nottingham.

Feeling fresh, she also agreed to team up with Andy Murray for the mixed doubles and there will be a dream scenario that she helps the Scot bow out of Wimbledon with a title next week.

But she may also have her own focus in the singles draw if this form continues. Some big names are out like Aryna Sabalenka and the draw is opening up for her after she avoided 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in her opening match.

World No 9 Maria Sakkari is likely to be her fourth-round opponent. She knows her well having beaten her in the last four on her way to US Open glory three years ago but it will be a tougher test than this.

She didn’t have to exert too much energy to get there, though. The job was done in just over an hour.

Raducanu broke Mertens in the second set for the first time in the third game.

A superb backhand winner sealing the game much to the delight of the Court 1 crowd who cheered on the home favourite.

Mertens didn’t win a point in the next, bringing Raducanu into the net was met with a deft return winner before an ace sealed it and the fans were being treated to some superb stuff.

When a backhand drop slice was out of Mertens’ reach, the second break of the set was secured to move 4-1 ahead.

Court 1 was loving it and she held her serve in the next which brought another round of cheers.

The first of two match points was taken when Mertens hit beyond the baseline and the fans were brought to their feet to applaud the impressive victory.