Emma Raducanu is through to the second round of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open after despatching Marie Bouzkova in straight sets.
Raducanu, playing in just her third tournament of the year and first since her second-round exit at the Australian Open, took 82 minutes to see off her Czech opponent 6-4 6-1 in the final match of the day.
The former US Open champion recovered from a slow start to break Bouzkova three times in the opening set and win four consecutive games to prevail 6-4, then took control of the match by breaking her twice early in the second.
Raducanu completed her impressive victory – her first over a player in the world’s top 100 in 11 months – to safely book a last-16 meeting with second seed Ons Jabeur, who received a bye through the opening round.
Worth the wait as Raducanu progresses
Raducanu’s match was last on the Stadium Court and Monday and due to begin around 3pm UK time, only to be delayed several hours due to earlier matches taking longer than expected.
“I warmed up so many times today!” Raducanu said after her victory. “I was here since two [in the afternoon], so it was a pretty long wait.
Emma Raducanu won 10 of the last 11 games after going 4-2 down in the opening set
“I think in the beginning I was just adjusting to the speed of the court. I hadn’t played on this court this year yet, so I was kind of just adjusting. It was pretty quick and also a lot more still than it had been for the week, because it’s been very windy, so it was a different tempo.
“Marie is a really tough opponent. I knew that going in I was going to have to play so many balls and I think in the beginning I was missing a few of the finishing shots, but I cleaned that up so I’m very happy about.”
More to follow…
Watch the WTA and ATP Tours throughout 2024 on Sky Sports Tennis. Stream tennis and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership.
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel. Find out more here…