Emma Raducanu began her build-up towards next month’s US Open with an impressive straight-sets win over seventh seed Marta Kostyuk at the Mubadala DC Citi Open in Washington.
Playing her first singles match since stretching world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon, Raducanu held off the Ukrainian world No 27 to pull through a gruelling encounter 7-6 (4) 6-4.
Both players struggled on serve in a 71-minute opening set, trading early breaks before inevitably edging into a tie-break which Raducanu won despite initially sacrificing a 4-0 lead.
The British No 3, who made a rare doubles appearance alongside Elena Rybakina earlier this week, looked the fresher of the pair in tough conditions and cemented her superiority by breaking en route to establishing a 3-0 lead in the second set.
Kostyuk, who arrived in Washington having lost five singles matches in a row stretching back to May, rallied just when all seemed lost, breaking Raducanu back as she clawed back to parity at 4-4.
Daniil Medvedev puts his memory to the test to answer a series of tennis trivia in the ‘Five to Win’ quiz.
Having forced Kostyuk to serve to stay in the match, the Ukrainian handed Raducanu two match points with a double fault, and the Briton seized her second chance to book her place in the second round.
“Extremely good win,” Raducanu said in her on-court interview. “Playing Marta first round is extremely difficult and we’ve always had some tough matches.
“I’m happy with the way I fought through the first set and in the second, stayed tough when I needed to.”
Cameron Norrie completed a notable win over second seed and world No 7 Lorenzo Musetti to book his place in the last 16.
Norrie, the world No 41, hit back from losing the opening set to triumph 3-6 6-2 6-3 and score his first win over a top 10-ranked player since reaching the quarter-finals at Indian Wells in 2023.
Venus Williams made a winning return to the sport in the Mubadala Citi DC Open as she and Hailey Baptiste progressed in the Women’s Doubles.
What is the schedule for the Mubadala Citi DC Open?
Qualifying: Saturday, 19 July and Sunday, 20 July
Main Draw: Monday, 21 July-Saturday, 26 July
Singles Finals: Sunday, 27 July
Who won the last editions of the Mubadala Citi DC Open in 2024?
Sebastian Korda defeated Flavio Cobolli in last year’s final, winning 4-6 6-2 6-0. With the win, he became the first American man to win the Washington crown since Andy Roddick in 2007. He also matched his father, Petr Korda, who won the DC title in 1992.
Paula Badosa won the women’s title. However, the world No 10 will not be back to defend her 2024 crown after pulling out earlier this week due to a back injury.
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