On Friday, Emma Raducanu succeeded in her first professional clay-court match against Tereza Martincova, and the Brit was delighted with her win.
The Czech Republic and Great Britain are tied at the Billie Jean King Cup. Marketa Vondrousova put the Czechs into the lead, but later, the highest-ranked British player, Raducanu, put up a solid performance to win 7-5, 7-5 against Tereza Martincova.
It was Raducanu's first professional appearance on clay. A few days ago, she joked about having "no toenails left" after the first practice sessions. However, she has managed the role of the team's no. 1 very well so far.
"This win means so much to me. It is my first Billie Jean King Cup match and to come out and represent my team like I did in my first professional match on clay is really amazing."
For the British player, the win meant a lot not only because she won a match, which was a match for her country, but because of her personal success, as she struggled so far in 2022.
"It definitely means so much because this year I have been playing really good tennis for a set, maybe a set and a half, and then my energy dips and I find myself in an absolute battle."
"Today, I felt it was another step in the right direction because I managed to overcome that, so that gives me a lot of confidence. For the team also, we’re still in this. We’re still in this battle and we’re fighting."
On Saturday, Raducanu will face a very difficult test when she will take on Marketa Vondrousova, who dropped only one game against her team colleague Harriet Dart. On facing the 2019 Roland Garros finalist, Raducanu said:
"Tomorrow, I face Marketa and, of course, she is a great player. She made the final of Roland Garros [in 2019] and she loves clay, but I’m looking forward to playing her. It will be a great test to see where I am at on clay and build for the rest of the season because all tournaments are going to have this quality of opposition."
"I am looking forward to seeing how my game measures up and if you’re going to have a challenge, why not pick the toughest one? I’m up for that challenge and who knows what will happen? The team is really pumped and looking forward to it."
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