Emma Raducanu started the 2023 season against a player that is ranked just one stop under her and it was a fight for the second-round spot at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The 2021 US Open champion took on one of the biggest talents on the WTA Tour, 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova. Before starting the season, Raducanu hinted that she changed her mindset going into 2023 and believes that it will also help her to improve in terms of results.
Both players were quite solid on their serve in the first set until the eight game when both players started creating a lot of break points. First, Fruhvirtova had 3 chances to break her opponent and then the Brit had 4 by herself.
However, none of these were used and so the Czech player converted the only set point of the set and her fourth break point in the next game to win the first set 6-4. That was after players returned from a rain delay, which stopped the play in the eighth game of the match.
In the second set, Raducanu lost the first eight points and it looked really bad for her. Yet, then she managed to break her opponent twice, build a 4-2 lead which she never lost and won the second 6-4 to force a decider.
In the third set, Raducanu could even bagel her opponent and win 6-0, but she eventually couldn't do that. However, she certainly won't be upset by that as she won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes.
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