Emma Raducanu handled the business in her opening match with coach Francisco Roig after ousting Olga Danilovic 6-3 6-2, and she plays Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati third round.
The 30th-seeded Briton, who had a first-round bye at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, lost her serve twice in the first set but broke the 40th-ranked Serb three times to still take the opener. The second was more straightforward for the 2021 US Open champion, who claimed two breaks to seal a straight-set victory.
Next up for Raducanu will be a third career meeting versus top seed Sabalenka, who defeated 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5 6-1. Last year, the current world No. 1 beat the Briton 6-3 7-5 in Indian Wells. A month ago, they met for the second time, and the Belarusian tennis star also registered a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win.
How Raducanu reacted to her performance versus Danilovic and what she can expect versus Sabalenka?
Following her opening Cincinnati win, the 2021 US Open champion acknowledged that it wasn't an ideal performance. However, the 22-year-old was still pretty happy with her display.
“Bar the first game today, that was not very much fit, but other than that, I was pretty mature and disciplined in my performance. I took care of my service games really well. And I knew that playing Olga, who's really difficult and really dangerous as a lefty and with big strikes, it was going to be important," the world No. 33 said after her opening win.
Against Sabalenka, Raducanu has yet to win a set. However, the British tennis player managed to cause some problems to the Belarusian during their Wimbledon match – especially in the first set – when she didn't convert some chances. Also, it is worth mentioning that the world No. 1 is only now playing her first tournament since Wimbledon, while the Briton is already playing her third tournament on hard this summer.
It remains to be seen if Raducanu can pull off an upset and beat Sabalenka for the first time in Cincinnati.
