Raducanu steadies herself to beat Cristian in Korea Open first round
British number one wins in straight sets in Seoul; Cameron Norrie upset in Chengdu
Emma Raducanu subdued her emotions to defeat Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Korea Open in Seoul on Tuesday, advancing after a rain-delayed match that lasted two hours and two minutes.
The 22-year-old British number one, ranked 33rd in the world, appeared close to tears in the opening set after netting a forehand and facing two break points at 3-3. Raducanu regrouped to hold serve and moved into a 5-3 lead when Cristian double-faulted. She saved two break points while serving for the set and closed it out after one hour and seven minutes.
Raducanu produced a number of strong winners in the second set, including a running forehand down the line, and twice broke back against Cristian, who is ranked 41st. She secured a pivotal break in the ninth game to move to 5-4, faced a break point while serving for the match, and ultimately converted to seal the victory.
"I'm super happy to have won," Raducanu said after the match. "It hasn't been easy. I feel like I've played this match the last three days. To have pulled through after waiting, I'm super pleased at how I came through. Jaqueline is a really tough opponent and has had great results recently. [They were] tough conditions, very slow, long rallies and long points, so happy to have got through."
Raducanu withdrew from Great Britain's squad for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals to compete in Seoul. She has said she believed playing on the WTA Tour rather than at the BJK Cup would be better for the long-term development of her game and for the early stages of her partnership with new coach Francisco Roig.
Raducanu will face two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova in the next round after Krejcikova beat Tatiana Prozorova 6-1, 6-2.
In China, Britain suffered another contrasting result as Cameron Norrie was stunned at the Chengdu Open. The world number 34 squandered a match point and lost to China's Yi Zhou, ranked 304th, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-7 (2-7) in the last 32. Norrie held a match point while leading 5-4 in the deciding set but was unable to convert, and Zhou clinched the win in a final-set tiebreak.
The results leave Raducanu through to the second round in Seoul as she seeks momentum on the WTA Tour, while Norrie faces an early exit that will affect his standing on the ATP schedule.