Emma Raducanu overcame a slow start to down Tereza Martincova at the 2022 Madrid Open in straight sets.
The British player played her first-ever professional clay match against Martincova a few weeks ago in the Billie Jean King Cup. She won that match in straight sets, and now, at the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, the two met again.
Similarly to their match at the Billie Jean King Cup, Raducanu entered it on the back foot. Her opponent attacked her quite well, and as a result, Martincova was able to break her opponent's serve early in the match, leading 4-2 in the opening set and increasing the lead to 5-2.
Raducanu took some time to get into the rhythm, but once she did, she slowly took over. Martincova's confidence dropped, particularly after dropping the one-break lead, which gave Raducanu a boost.
The first set went into the tie-break, and it was the 2021 US Open champion who emerged on top, besting Martincova mainly from the baseline, winning the tie-break 7-3 after previously saving two set points in the tenth game.
That loss in the first set completely shook Martincova, who wasn't able to find her game at all in the second set of the match. The Brit outplayed her by a large margin, serving up a parting bagel by winning the second set 6-0 and the match 7-6(3), 6-0.
It was a good start for Raducanu at the 2022 Madrid Open, who is in the Spanish capital without a permanent coach after parting ways with Torben Beltz.
Up next, Raducanu will face a difficult opponent. Marta Kostyuk received a wild card for the Madrid Open, and in her first-round match she showed why, beating Clara Tauson in two sets, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament.
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