Emma Raducanu enjoyed a remarkable victory when she tied Britain with the Czech Republic at the end of the first day of the Billy Jean King Cup match in Prague.
US Open champion Tereza Martintsova’s 50th clash was not only her racing debut for Britain, but also her first professional clay-court match – another example of the 19-year-old’s remarkable career trajectory.
The pressure was on Raducanu after a 55-minute strike by Harriet Darth with 6-1 6-0 from Marketa Vondrousova and she handled the challenge impressively, winning 7-5 7-5.
It was only Raducanu’s third win of the season – with Martintsova the highest-ranked player to beat New York – and was particularly satisfying after a series of games in which she failed to build a strong start.
“This victory definitely meant a lot to me, because this year I won many first sets, led matches and in fact finishing it in two sets gave me a lot of confidence,” said the 19-year-old.
“And only for the team, we are still in it, we are fighting, everything is to play for tomorrow. And this is my first clay match in four years, it’s pretty crazy. I don’t know how it took so long. “
Raducanu last played on the surface in 2018 in the junior French Open, but this performance was remarkable for the way she learned as she moved forward, saving a set point at 4-5 in the opening and then fights 1-4 in the second.
“I was most pleased with the adaptation I had to make because the conditions changed a lot, it was sunny and then cold and then a lot of wind,” she said.
“There are also a lot of bad rebounds on clay, so I struggled a lot with that and I had to find a way to adapt. And I’m very happy with the way I was able to increase my intensity after falling 1-4 behind in the second set and overcome that decline. “
The victory was crucial for Britain if they wanted to cause great disappointment against the longtime champions, with Darth’s unilateral loss to former French Open finalist Vondrousova a demonstration of the scale of their task.
Captain Ann Keotawong said: “First and foremost, I thought it was a really brave performance by Emma, and it took a lot of effort to finish this match in successive sets.
“I think we need to get into tomorrow, believing we have a good chance. We came here as outsiders, the Czechs were big favorites and they are still big favorites.”
It takes three points to win and, first on Saturday, Raducanu will try to win his second against Vondrousova in an extremely intriguing match.
Raducanu comfortably defeated the 22-year-old in the second round of Wimbledon last year, when she was unknown on the world stage, but this is not only Vondrousova’s best surface, the draw is also played at the Czech club, where she grew up.
“I feel that grass and clay are the polar opposites, so the match will be different,” Raducanu said.
“It’s her home, her home game, but I’m looking forward to it. This will be a big challenge and probably the toughest opponent I will play clay in the first few days, so it will be a great test to see where I am and build until the end of the season.
“I take every game as an attempt to learn, but the team is so passionate about tomorrow.”
Both captains have the opportunity to change teams, and an intriguing opportunity for Keotawong could be 20-year-old Sonai Kartal, who has been in brilliant form at lower-level events for the past six months.
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