Emma Raducanu: British No 1 continues winning momentum after first-round success in Montreal

Emma Raducanu continued the winning feeling by sealing a comfortable victory in her opening match of the National Bank Open in Montreal on Monday.

She picked up statement wins over Marta Kostyuk, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka and former world No 3 Maria Sakkari en route to the final four in Washington last week and she continued the feel-good factor at the WTA 1000 tournament in Canada.

Raducanu, who jumped 13 places in the rankings to world No 33 to reclaim her position as British No 1, eased past Elena-Gabriela Ruse from Romania 6-2 6-4 in front of coach Mark Petchey after their partnership was left up in the air following her Wimbledon third-round defeat.

Raducanu, who will next face American 32nd seed Peyton Stearns in the second round, said: “I’m so happy to come through that. I know Elena, she’s a very good friend of mine, and it’s difficult when you have to play someone you’re close to, so I’m really proud of how I put that to one side for the match and backed up a good week last week in DC and performed well today.

“It’s extremely difficult [to play someone you know]. We spent a lot of time together in off-court practices, and she’s a great girl. It’s not nice when you see her name in the draw but I’m really pleased with how I performed with myself.”

Raducanu flew from Washington to Montreal on Sunday night and immediately faced five break points in her first service game.

But in more hot and humid conditions in Canada, Raducanu showed her resilience and leaned on her improved serve to claim a crucial hold before more issues were forthcoming in her next service game.

After Raducanu again survived, having been taken to deuce, she sensed her moment and was able to break Ruse to move 3-2 up after the Romanian sent down two double-faults.

It sparked a run of six consecutive games for Raducanu as she clinched the opener by a 6-2 score, but an early break at the start of the second set was followed by an immediate response from Ruse.

While Raducanu forced more break points on Ruse’s serve, it was not until the seventh game of set two that the 2021 US Open champion broke again to move 4-3 ahead.

It started a run of three consecutive breaks before Raducanu kept her cool to close out victory at the first time of asking on serve after a demanding one-hour-and-37-minute battle in front of delighted coach Petchey.

It was a sixth win in her last eight matches, while she is now 4-0 against Romanian players in tour-level main-draw matches.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong said: “That’s a performance she should feel proud of. Tidy tennis and she played very much within herself.

“I do feel like she’s got a few more gears to go if needed, but she is through to the second round.”

Miles Maclagan, Andy Murray’s former coach, said: “That is a good win. It’s always impressive when you follow up a good week. It’s tough to get going after some emotional highs.

“From conditions which are slower in Washington to these courts, which are quicker, generally a little less humid but not today.”

Boulter suffers another early exit

British No 2 Katie Boulter made 54 unforced errors as she fell to a second successive first-round defeat, losing 6-1 7-5 to Mexican world No 68 Renata Zarazua.

She only narrowly avoided a first-set bagel and despite an improved level in the second set, she went down to defeat.

It’s been a mixed season for Boulter so far, who has struggled to string together deep runs on the WTA tour, and suffered an earlier-than-expected exit at Wimbledon before losing in the opening round of Washington last week.

Maclagan admitted: “It wasn’t good, was it? It was an ugly first set and the errors came quickly. The signs were there early on with three forehands in her first service game which put her under a bit of pressure.

“It was a difficult opponent with the conditions. Zarazua used them by taking the pace out of the ball and drop shots into the wind, bringing Boulter forward into uncomfortable positions. It’s one to take lessons from.”

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