Posted: 14:54, 15 April 2022 |  Updated: 22:30, 15 April 2022  

From Emma Raducanu came a strong reminder that she is much more than a great shock champion and a sponsorship opportunity waiting to happen. She went out to play her first clay court match on Friday, her first outing in a GB jersey, and gave another taste of why she has already achieved amazing things during her first 12 months on tour. Making light on her inexperience, she tied Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup against the formidable Czech team with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over world No. 50 Tereza Martincova. Emma Raducanu fought for the victory over Tereza Martincova to equalize the draw in Prague The British number one had to counterattack twice before closing an exhausting victory While not a groundbreaking contribution to the genre, a victory over the straight set was certainly not the expected result on the ground, a surface that so often irritates those who have rarely set foot on it. In the case of Raducanu, he had not played any kind of dirt game since the 2018 French Open youth games, but he had the ingenuity to solve it as he progressed. Her tendency to make a decent start, as evidenced by that great triumph, was eliminated on this occasion to make her best performance by Flushing Meadows. “This year, I played very good tennis for one set, maybe a set and a half, and then my energy drops,” he said. “And then I’m in an absolute battle and it disappoints me. But today is another step in the right direction because I managed to overcome it. I do everything off the field to be the best I can be.
Martincova proved to be a tough test for Raducanu and the Czech had chances to take control of the match “I am happy with the way I increased my intensity after 4-1 in the second set. “Conditions were windy and changed a lot, so that means a lot.” Martincova is not, it must be said, an expert on the ground and sometimes looked like two players playing in a hard court match. With the wind blowing occasionally in this unusual place – the island of Stvanice, which sits in the middle of the Vltava River flowing through Prague – Raducanu managed to win despite serving seven double faults. The key game came to 4-4 in the second set, when the No. 1 of England withstood enormous pressure to keep its service, showing bloody determination and impressive reserves of energy. It was also remarkable how the 19-year-old has already made technical adjustments to get more loop in her forehand.
Radukanu kept her nerves to keep alive her team’s chances of winning on the second day “I thought it was a very brave show by Emma,” said GB chief Anne Keothavong. “To be able to close this match in a straight set, it took a huge effort.” A shock GB victory in the draw, which would secure a place in the November finals, remains a great opportunity, with two singles and a double to play. Today Raducanu faces Marketa Vondrousova, whom she upset in the second round of Wimbledon last summer to warn the country that she had an unusual talent in her hands. Repeating this effect on the clay would be an even more important result. Vodrusova reached the final of the 2019 French Open and earlier showed her class on this surface to crush 6-1, 6-0 the British No. 2 Harriet Dart, who also served seven double faults. Keothavong may be tempted to drop one of its reserve players, such as 20-year-old Sonay Kartal, to play their second single today. The Czechs have such power in depth that they have many options to deal with any sudden choice by the governor.

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