Emma Raducanu secured her opening victory at the Italian Open, overcoming a strong challenge from Australia`s Maya Joint in a hard-fought match that went to a deciding set. Raducanu ultimately prevailed with a 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 scoreline to advance to the second round in Rome.
With her mentor Jane O`Donoghue watching and her new coach Mark Petchey absent due to broadcasting duties, Raducanu`s next opponent will be world No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Raducanu applied early pressure in the first set. After earning multiple break points, she was initially thwarted by resilient defense from Joint, who managed to secure the first break herself to take a 4-2 lead. However, Raducanu quickly responded, breaking back immediately with a sharp return. She then held serve to level the set and broke again to gain the lead. Raducanu closed out the opening set decisively, winning it 7-5.
The second set started well for Raducanu with an early break. Yet, Joint proved tenacious, staying competitive and saving points, even when Raducanu was close to winning the match. Joint fought back to level the set at 5-5, shifting the momentum. Although Raducanu forced a tiebreak, Joint played a strong tiebreak, winning it 7-1 to take the second set and force a decider.
In the final set, Raducanu reasserted control, racing to a 5-0 lead. Despite Joint`s continued resistance, winning three straight games, Raducanu held her nerve. After securing the first point of the final game following a net cord, she regained her focus and served out the match, winning the third set 6-3 and sealing her place in the next round.
“I think the level was really high today, Maya played so aggressive,” Raducanu commented after the match. “I`m really proud of how I came through.”
“I found it so hard this morning, the wait and the rain and the delay,” she added. “Really proud of how I came back in the match.”
In other British player news, Katie Boulter exited the tournament after a straight-sets loss (6-3, 6-3) to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. This result potentially puts Boulter`s position as British No. 1 at risk, as a deep run by either Raducanu or Sonay Kartal in the tournament could see them overtake her in the rankings.
Cameron Norrie, who entered the main draw as a `lucky loser,` advanced by defeating Australia`s Christopher O`Connell in straight sets (6-3, 6-2). He is now set to face former world number one Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Norrie reflected on his previous day`s loss, stating he was “completely devastated” by his poor play. He added that it was “nice to have another chance” and rare to get immediate “revenge.”
