Emma Raducanu secured a hard-fought win over Peyton Stearns in the first round of the Korea Open.
The Brit, who was back in action for the first time since her opening round US Open exit, battled to a 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5) victory in a brutal encounter which lasted two hours and 43 minutes.
GettyRaducanu put her US Open disappointment behind her with a return to winning ways[/caption]
Raducanu had to show some serious grit to secure a return to winning ways, having not tasted success on court since July 31, which coincidentally also came against Stearns.
With the 2021 US Open champion running out a 7-6 (8) 6-2 victor last time around at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, her opponent proved much tougher to beat on this occasion.
Despite getting off to a strong start by breaking Stearns in the opening game, Raducanu then struggled to capitalise on this, with the first set producing eight breaks of serve.
Ultimately however, the world number 70 held her nerve to claim the opening set on a tie-break after 74 minutes.
And things didn’t get any easier after that, as Raducanu was broken whilst serving for the match at 5-3, before Stearns then missed a chance to go level when she failed to hold her serve when 6-5 up.
After this, the British star refused to let go, sealing the second set and victory on another tie-break after 89 minutes of play in a gruelling encounter.
The marathon clash was the second-longest straight-sets match of 2024 so far, falling just shy of Sara Sorribes Tormo’s victory over Victoria Azarenka in the Madrid Open which lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Raducanu had to battle the elements too, with play being delayed for 45 minutes due to excessive heat on a hot and humid day.
And the 21-year-old later admitted to being pleased with how she handled the tough conditions to earn the win.
Speaking on court after the match, she said: “I’m proud to have made it through to the next round. It was tough and very humid.
Raducanu’ became a Grand Slam champion at the age of 18 when she tasted glory at the 2021 US OpenGETTY
“It was a tough match to get through. I haven’t played many matches in the last few months.
“Peyton is a really good player in good form so I’m really pleased.”
After victory over superior-ranked opposition in world number 47 Stearns, Raducanu now faces a similar challenge in her next clash, where she will play China’s Yue Yuan, who is ranked 40th.
But after a disappointing first-round exit at the US Open against Sofia Kenin, the Londoner will now be looking to enjoyed a sustained run at the tournament, having started to find form prior to this.
Following an injury-ravaged 2023, Raducanu reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in July, her best Grand Slam performance since her shock major victory in New York in 2021.
This, on top of a semi-final appearance at the Rothesay Open in June saw the Brit break back into the world’s top 100, and she was crowned the LTA’s Women’s Player of the Month award for July as a result.
Raducanu will now look to pick back up where she left off earlier in the summer as she targets an improvement on her previous best run in Korea, having reached the semi-finals in 2022.
