Emma Raducanu made a statement as she stormed back to beat Veronika Kudermetova and reach the last 16 in Rome. The Brit responded perfectly after losing a close first set, stepping it up and sealing a 5-7 6-0 6-1 victory.
Raducanu had an awkward mishap at the end of the second set when the umpire reminded her that she couldn’t have a lengthy discussion with her team. She quickly apologised and regrouped to book her spot in round four. But things will only get tougher as Raducanu faces world No. 3 and recent Madrid finalist Coco Gauff.
Just days ago, Raducanu admitted her relationship with the clay was still “complicated”, but she’s clearly learning to love it. This is the first time she has reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam or WTA 1000 on the surface.
The world No. 49 was back on the SuperTennis Arena for the third time after two very different matches. She outlasted teenage qualifier Maya Joint in a rollercoaster three-setter in the first round before breezing past lucky loser Jil Teichmann on Friday.
Her third-round encounter with Kudermetova was a whole new test. The first set was a dogfight, as neither player was able to take a convincing lead.
There were boomerangs of breaks – Kudermetova was the first to pounce and she took a 4-3 lead before Raducanu got straight back on serve. Then, the Brit had a chance to close out the set at 5-4, but Kudermetova broke back and won the last three games to take it 7-5 after 63 minutes.
It was a sloppier set from the former US Open champion, who hit two double faults and only won two points on her second serve.
But the British No. 2 massively stepped it up as Kudermetova suffered a lapse in set two. The 28-year-old let 40-15 in the first game, but everything fall apart and Raducanu raced into a 5-0 lead.
Kudermetova called the physio before Raducanu had the chance to serve for the set and received an off-court medical time-out. The world No. 49 made the most of the interruption – she served some balls and spoke with Mark Petchey and Jane O’Donoghue in her box.
Raducanu played a scrappy game to close out the set, but she still got the job done, sealing a bagel and forcing a decider.
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