Emma Raducanu is back on the tennis court and she started the 2024 WTA season with an impressive win at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The British player has been away from the sport for eight months, and it wasn't an easy way back as she faced problems on her comeback. However, she returned, and she returned with a win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in Auckland.
Raducanu believes she's a better player now, and she got to prove it at the ASB Classic, where she injured herself last year. After learning the draw, Raducanu knew she would play one of the qualifiers, which turned out to be one of her friends, Ruse.
The two have never met before, and it was an important meeting for both, as the Romanian was looking to follow up on good results from the qualifying, while the British wild card wanted to start the new season with a win.
In the first set of the match, the 2021 US Open champion impressed everyone and showed that she's still one of the most talented players on the women's Tour, as even after a long hiatus, she won the first set 6-3.
But the second set proved to be more challenging for the Brit. She didn't use any of her three break points in the first game, and way immediately broken after that, facing an early 0-3 deficit.
She broke back, but Ruse did the same thing and led 5-2 and served for the set at 5-3. Once again, Raducanu managed to break back, but the same thing happened as the last time with Ruse returning the favour, and winning the second set 6-4.
In the third set, Raducanu one again impressed, but mostly in the opening stages. She broke her opponent's serve twice, and at 5-2, she was serving for the match.
But she got broken, and in the following game, the British player couldn't use two match points on her opponent's serve. On top of that, she faced another break point in the next game, and at 5-5, it was a game on again.
But eventually, Raducanu was able to step up, and won the final two games of the match, winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to secure her first win of the 2024 season.
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