Emma Raducanu secured her first victory on outdoor clay courts since 2022 by defeating Suzan Lamens 7-6(4), 6-4 in the opening round of the Mutua Madrid Open. The British player demonstrated resilience, recovering from being a break down in both sets to clinch the win.
The former US Open champion`s clay court season was significantly impacted in 2023 due to multiple wrist and ankle surgeries, and her 2024 clay campaign had been brief before arriving in Madrid. This win marks a positive step on the surface where she has had limited recent match play.
Facing World No. 73 Lamens, who recently reached the Rouen semifinals and won her first WTA title last year in Osaka, Raducanu knew she was in for a challenging match in the Spanish capital.
Lamens` aggressive shot-making, particularly her forehand, posed a significant threat throughout the contest. However, Raducanu proved stronger in the critical moments, narrowly winning the first-set tiebreak and staging a comeback from 0-2 down in the second set.
In the second round, Raducanu is set to face No. 24 seed Marta Kostyuk. The two players previously met at this exact stage in Madrid back in 2022, with Raducanu winning that encounter 6-2, 6-1, which leveled their career head-to-head record at one win each.
Key Moments:
In their first professional meeting, the match featured several crucial exchanges. The first set was tight, with neither player finding consistent rhythm initially. However, Lamens found her range late in the set, breaking Raducanu to force a tiebreak. Despite securing an early mini-break in the tiebreak to lead 3-2, Lamens` unforced errors allowed Raducanu to take the crucial first set.
Lamens started the second set strong, breaking Raducanu to take a 2-0 lead, but immediately gave the advantage back with a double fault. A lengthy and high-quality game at 3-3 on Lamens` serve became decisive. Lamens battled fiercely, saving seven break points, but Raducanu eventually converted her eighth break point opportunity with a forehand winner after Lamens netted a backhand.
That pivotal game shifted the momentum decisively in Raducanu`s favor, allowing her to close out the match. Raducanu played a more composed match overall, hitting 19 winners compared to Lamens` 26, but crucially limited her unforced errors to 33, significantly fewer than Lamens` count of 42.
