Emma Raducanu continued her strong clay-court form with a dominant first-round victory over world No 17 Daria Kasatkina at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. The British No 2 delivered an assured performance to defeat the sixth seed 6-1, 6-3, recording her most impressive result yet on clay.
Fresh from her run to the last 16 of the Italian Open where she secured three clay-court wins in a row for the first time in her career Raducanu looked confident and in control throughout the match. The 22-year-old had lost all three of her previous encounters with Kasatkina, who recently switched national representation to Australia, but she showed no signs of hesitation as she claimed a measure of revenge in emphatic fashion.
Raducanu made a blistering start, breaking Kasatkina in the opening game. Though she was immediately broken back, she quickly regrouped and rattled off five consecutive games to take the first set 6-1. Her aggression from the baseline and ability to redirect pace left her opponent struggling to find rhythm.
The second set began much like the first, with Raducanu holding serve and then breaking Kasatkina to extend her lead to 2-0 her seventh straight game. Kasatkina showed some resistance, breaking back, but it led to a stretch of five consecutive breaks of serve in a nervy passage of play. Raducanu eventually steadied herself and served for the match at 5-3.
Closing out the match, however, was not without its challenges. She squandered her first two match points with a return winner from Kasatkina and an unforced error, then missed a third chance after netting a backhand slice. But on the fourth opportunity, Raducanu sealed the win, letting out a visible sigh of relief.
Reflecting on her performance after the match, Raducanu expressed satisfaction with her progress on clay. She acknowledged that she is gradually warming to the surface and building a stronger understanding of how to play on it effectively.
The Briton entered the Strasbourg tournament as a late wildcard, viewing it as the final preparation before the French Open, which begins on Sunday. Her next challenge will come against American Danielle Collins, who advanced with a three-set victory over compatriot Sofia Kenin.
Elsewhere, it was a tougher day for Harriet Dart, who was eliminated in the first round of French Open qualifying. Dart struggled to find any consistency as she fell 6-1, 6-2 to Ukraine’s Anastasiia Sobolieva. The world No 230 broke Dart twice in a rapid first set lasting just 28 minutes and maintained her momentum to wrap up a commanding win.
In men’s action, British players also found success on the clay courts of Geneva. Jacob Fearnley impressed with a confident 6-4, 6-1 win over Serbian wildcard Dusan Lajovic. After a tightly contested opening phase featuring four successive service breaks, Fearnley broke again in the ninth game of the first set and then served it out. He maintained his dominance in the second, breaking early and winning four straight games to close out the match. His next opponent will be the fifth seed, Alexei Popyrin of Australia.
Cameron Norrie, the British No 3, also got off to a winning start in Geneva, overcoming Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker 7-6 (2), 6-3. Norrie navigated a tight first set before taking control in the second, continuing his push for form ahead of Roland Garros.
