Emma Raducanu was delighted with herself after getting through a difficult day to seal her first-ever win at the Italian Open. The world No. 49 was broken when serving for the match twice. She finally got the job done at the third time of asking, beating teenage qualifier Maya Joint 7-5 6-7(1) 6-3.
But it was a tough build-up overall for Raducanu, who was given the last slot of the day on the new SuperTennis Arena and had her match further pushed back by rain delays. After a long wait, the Brit was proud of her ability to regroup after feeling like she had a “day off”.
The British No. 2 had a lot of hurdles to overcome as she made her return to the Italian Open after a three-year absence. Raducanu finally took to the court around 8pm local time and didn’t finish her match until close to 11pm.
The former US Open champion looked to be cruising to victory when she led by a set and a break, and she was two points from victory in the second set. But Aussie world No. 78 Joint broke back to force a decider.
