After days of speculation after Emma Raducanu around Caja Mágica, this time about the merits of her unusual coaching prospects in light of her decision to break up with coach Torben Belz in five months, the 19-year-old Kort’s education has resumed. with an excellent victory in her debut at the Madrid Open.
After falling 2-5 in the first set and then a two-set set point down, Raducanu demonstrated his adaptability and mental strength as he methodically turned the game upside down, eventually recording a convincing 7-6 victory (3 ), 6-0 over Tereza Martintsova to reach the second round.
The match was the second meeting between the pair this month, as Raducanu achieved a serious victory against Martintsova in her first professional match match in the Billy Jean King Cup. But while the faster altitude conditions in Madrid are preferential for Raducanu, they also suited Martintsova. The Czech served extremely well, put constant pressure on Radukanu with the forehand and she was extremely clean for most of the starting set.
But not everything. As in Prague, Raducanu created his best tennis when he needed it most. This time she completely changed her approach under pressure. Not only did she start charging her shots with more top spins, adding a margin to her game, moving farther behind the baseline and causing mistakes by Martintsova with her perseverance, she also embraced glue with her offensive play.
After starting the match, attacking inside the main line, looking to change directions down the line, essentially playing like a hard court, Raducanu began to process the points with width and angle, slowly pulling Martintsova off the court. In subsequent rallies of exhaustion, Raducanu’s greater athleticism was so often the difference in late exchange.
Throughout the network, the entire opposition quickly disintegrated. After saving the set points, tying the starting set at 5-5 and then harnessing his momentum in an excellent tie-break, Raducanu continued the match, winning 11 of the last 12 matches to support the victory. Such a careful presentation was an appropriate demonstration of why Raducanu is so confident in his ability to read and understand the game and why he does not think he needs a prominent coach to guide him at all times. It was also a look at how she could adapt her game to the clay’s continued success in the future as her experience grew on the surface.
Raducanu will then face Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, a 19-year-old colleague she grew up playing as a teenager. “As a teenager, she was always a favorite when we played. They thought she was much better, “Raducanu said. “Yes, that’s funny. When we played last year, she played very well, but I wasn’t very well that day either. So it will be an interesting match. “
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka returned to power with a promising victory after recovering from a breakthrough to comfortably beat Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-1.
In the men’s race, which starts on Sunday, Andy Murray won a spectacular draw in the first round against former US Open champion Dominic Thiem.
While Murray is a surprising player in Madrid, having originally planned to miss the entire clay court season, Team is returning to tennis after a disastrous year resulting in a serious wrist injury and many failures. He still hasn’t won a match since the last three tournaments.
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