Emma Raducanu secured her first victory on outdoor clay courts since 2022 at the Mutua Madrid Open. She defeated Suzan Lamens 7-6(4), 6-4 in the first round, notably recovering from a break disadvantage in both sets to claim the win.
The former US Open champion`s previous clay court seasons were significantly affected by injuries, including missing most of the 2023 swing due to multiple wrist and ankle surgeries. Her 2024 clay campaign had also been limited following an early exit in a previous tournament appearance against Maria Lourdes Carle.
Her draw in Madrid this year presented a challenge in world No. 73 Suzan Lamens. The 25-year-old Dutch player won her first WTA title in Osaka last October and recently reached the semifinals in Rouen last week, defeating notable players like Bianca Andreescu and Linda Noskova.
Lamens tested Raducanu throughout the encounter with her powerful shot-making, especially from her forehand side. Despite this, Raducanu demonstrated resilience in crucial moments, narrowly winning a close first-set tiebreak and then recovering from a 2-0 deficit in the second set.
In the second round, Raducanu is set to play against the No. 24 seed, Marta Kostyuk. Their only previous meeting was also in the second round of the Madrid tournament in 2022, where Raducanu secured a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory, leveling their head-to-head record at one win each.
Key Moments: This first-time meeting was decided by several pivotal passages of play. In the first set, neither player found consistent dominance until Lamens, trailing 6-5, used powerful forehands to force a tiebreak. She gained an early mini-break lead at 3-2 with impressive winners but then made a series of unforced errors, including a crucial backhand error on set point, allowing Raducanu to take the set.
In the second set, Lamens again started strongly, breaking for a 2-0 lead before immediately losing her serve due to a double fault. A critical game occurred at 3-3 on Lamens` serve, lasting six deuces. Lamens had seven chances to hold but was repeatedly challenged by Raducanu`s aggressive returns. Raducanu finally created her first break point chance with a forehand winner and converted it when Lamens netted a backhand.
This lengthy game proved pivotal. From that point, Raducanu moved confidently towards victory. Overall, she played a cleaner match; while Lamens hit more winners (26 vs 19), Raducanu kept her unforced errors lower (33 vs 42), contributing to her hard-fought win.
Rupert Caldwell