Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
Emma Raducanu spent her clay-court return getting her feet dirty.
Playing her first match in a month, Raducanu relied on smooth movement and timely strikes stopping Suzan Lamens 7-6(4), 6-4 to move into the Mutua Madrid Open second round.
It was Raducanu’s first match since she fell to Jessica Pegula in three sets in the Miami Open quarterfinals.
World No. 49 Raducanu saved five of eight break points and played the pressure points better than Lamens. Raducanu won 19 of 29 points played on her second serve, while Lamens was 11 of 29 on second-serve points.
The 2021 US Open champion opted to take an extended break after Miami to rest and recover saying she needed to refresh. Raducanu spent time in Los Angeles training with coaching consultant and Tennis Channel analyst Mark Petchey, who was in her box in Madrid today.
Though Raducanu regards clay as her least favorite surface, she has reached a couple of quarterfinals in Stuttgart. Raducanu said accepting the challenge clay-court tennis poses, including occasional bad bounces and sometime struggle to finish points, is essential to her approach on dirt.
“I'm pleased with how I just got on with it and didn't try to make too many excuses or complain too much–to myself or to my box," Raducanu told BBC Sport. "It was just accepting it was a challenge.
“I don't necessarily feel so comfortable on this surface but it is a surface I can get better on." The 22-year-old Raducanu, who improved to 8-7 on the season, will face No. 24-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in round two.
It was a mixed bag of results for former Grand Slam champions.
American Katie Volynets roared through 10 games in a row turning a 2-4 deficit into 6-4, 6-0 victory over two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, who continues her comeback from maternity leave.
World No. 70 Volynets, who scored her first Madrid main-draw win, will play No. 13-seeded left-hander Diana Shnaider in round two.
Volynets joined Alycia Parks, Bernarda Pera and Ann Li as one of four American women to post a first-round win. Li will face 25th-seeded lefty Leylah Fernandez in round two.
In a touching, emotional encounter between sisters, Veronika Kudermetova broke five times beating 21-year-old younger sister Polina Kudermetova 6-2, 6-2.
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The Kudermetova sisters were both in tears as they departed holding hands.