Emma Raducanu shines in her Seoul opener

Emma Raducanu played her first match in Seoul and it was a convincing victory over Uchijima of Japan 6-2 6-4.

The Brit arrived in Korea with high hopes and a will to win the event and she made a very good start. Fans were concerned after she was spotted with bandages on her leg earlier in the week but there were no physical issues present in this victory.

From the start, Raducanu showed a very high level and confidence in her game. Her opponent struggled to respond appropriately and an early break only became a bigger lead later on. The first set was a 6-2 finish as Emma dominated the rallies.

Her serve didn't work too well but it didn't matter as Uchijima simply could not create enough pressure in the rallies to trouble Raducanu. The Japanese player had an even worse time in the second set as Raducanu cruised to a 5-0 lead but then complicated things for her herself.

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She squandered two match points in that game to lose it and then saw Uchijima catch some fire from the baseline as a stunned Raducanu failed to respond. Raducanu was forced to save a break point at 5-4 but was able to do so and escape 6-4 in the second set. A solid performance but very shaky at the end.

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Gets over the line in straight sets 🏃‍♀️ @EmmaRaducanu moving on in Seoul! #HanaBankKoreaOpen

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