Emma Raducanu survived a gruelling test to earn her first career win at the Italian Open on Wednesday night. The Brit was twice broken when trying to serve out the match against Aussie qualifier Maya Joint and finally got the job done shortly before 11pm local time, winning 7-5 6-7(1) 6-3.
It was a tough day for Raducanu, who admitted she struggled to get herself pumped up after rain delays and hours of waiting around. Afterwards, the world No. 49 revealed that she had also been facing a new problem, battling a cold during her rollercoaster two-hour and 44-minute match.
Raducanu is back at the Foro Italico after a three-year absence. In her only previous appearance in 2022, she was forced to retire injured during her first-round match.
The 22-year-old returned hungry to get her first win in Rome and she did just that, though it wasn’t easy. Raducanu was two points from victory in the second set and served for the match, but 19-year-old Joint broke back and took the match to a decider.
It was a cold, dark night on the new SuperTennis Arena by the time Raducanu re-emerged for the third set, racing into a 5-0 lead before she was broken while serving for it again. But finally, at the third time of asking, she booked her spot in round two.
The conditions were less than ideal for Raducanu, who has been battling a cold over the last few days and felt the effects during her late-night match in Rome.
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve had this cold the last week or so,” she told the Daily Mail.
“It’s hard, you can’t really breathe through your nose and you’re trying to play and do these long rallies, it’s freezing out there, so I guess I just try and take care of myself as fast as I can.”
The British No. 2 will be hoping to regroup and recover in time for her second-round contest with Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed, whom she has already faced twice this year.
Raducanu beat Alexandrova at the Australian Open in January. A few weeks later, the Russian got revenge when they met in Doha.
The 2021 US Open champion will also be keen to have a full team in her box when she takes to the court on Friday. Mark Petchey, her “informal” coach, was not present for her first-round match.
Petchey is juggling his coaching duties with his Tennis Channel commentary role. On Wednesday night, he found himself in a unique position, commentating on Raducanu’s match for the American broadcast network.
Instead, Jane O’Donoghue sat alone in Raducanu’s box, cheering her on. A former tennis player, O’Donoghue is taking leave from her finance job to accompany the world No. 49 on tour and is something of a big sister figure to Raducanu.