Raducanu 'accepted challenge' to earn hard-fought clay win
Emma Raducanu's return to the WTA Tour began with a hard-fought win over Dutch opponent Suzan Lamens in the Madrid Open first round.
The British number two, playing competitively for the first time in almost a month, ground out a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory on the outdoor clay.
Raducanu trailed by a break in each set before instantly recovering and edged the bigger points to secure victory.
It was her first win on outdoor clay in almost three years.
"I'm pleased with how I just got on with it and didn't try to make too many excuses or complain too much – to myself or to my box," Raducanu told BBC Sport.
"It was just accepting it was a challenge. I don't necessarily feel so comfortable on this surface but it is a surface I can get better on."
Raducanu took a "physical and mental" break from competitive action after reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals last month, instead opting for a 10-day training block in Los Angeles.
The world number 49 spent the time there working with Mark Petchey, who is coaching her on an informal basis and was watching as she beat Lamens in her first clay-court appearance of the season.
Raducanu, 22, will play Ukrainian 24th seed Marta Kostyuk in the second round.
There were mixed fortunes for the other two Britons playing their first-round matches on Wednesday.
British number three Sonay Kartal is through with a 6-2 7-5 win over Romania's Jaqueline Cristian, but Francesca Jones is out after losing 7-6 4-6 6-3 to Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.
The Madrid Open is a WTA 1000 event – the rung of tournaments below the Grand Slams – and one of the most important in the build-up to next month's French Open.
Raducanu shows resilience again
During her Miami run, Raducanu spoke regularly about showing "resilience" to win matches and needed to demonstrate that quality again in her first clay-court match in a year.
Lamens, ranked 73rd in the world, is a combative player who has improved sharply over the past year and is more than comfortable on the surface.
Earlier this month, she beat British number one Katie Boulter in the Billie Jean King Cup tie that Raducanu missed to "rest" her body after a packed start to the season.
Raducanu was often unable to cope with Lamens' thumping forehand in the opening set but recovered from a break down – and saved three more break points in the ninth game – to drag her opponent into a tie-break.
Another measure of the 2021 US Open champion's improved mentality has been her impressive recent record in these situations – and showed it again.
Petchey was sat in her box alongside Raducanu's long-time ally Jane O'Donoghue, regularly offering praise and encouragement at crucial junctures.
Raducanu played more aggressively in the second set but also had to dig deep as Lamens tried to pin her back behind the baseline.
There were flashes of brilliance from the Briton, too, after she had adjusted to the fast clay conditions created by Madrid's altitude.
A running forehand down the line and another thunderous winner piled on the pressure as Lamens failed to hold serve in a lengthy seventh game.
However, it was not a straightforward path to victory. Raducanu shakily lost serve for 4-4 before a frustrated Lamens wobbled again and allowed the Briton to secure another confidence-boosting victory.
"I needed to fight and pull through some really difficult moments," Raducanu added.
"When your opponent is hitting great shots it is easy to get frustrated and think 'oh my God, they've hit the line so many times'.
"But I had to reset and accept that she's good, here for a reason and playing amazing tennis."
