"I don't know how I won the first game but it started there" says Marta Kostyuk about dismantling Raducanu

Marta Kostyuk handed Emma Raducanu her biggest loss of her professional career with a 6-2 6-1 win in Cluj-Napoca.

The Ukrainian played an amazing match forcing Raducanu to overhit many balls out of frustration as the Brit was unable to dispel her opponent. After the match, Raducanu remembered how Kostyuk always used to smash her when they were playing on the youngster circuit and something similar happened today. It was not as smooth as one might think as the Ukrainian barely won the first game having to save multiple break points.

On that she said:

"I don't know how I won the first game, I think that's where everything started. I somehow won that game and I gained this confidence like I'm not going to lose this match. After that, by the fifth game maybe, I figured out how to play her - today. Maybe next time I play it's going to be different tactics."

Read also

"He wasn't going to miss this opportunity" - Raducanu delighted about father being able to see her play

The last time they played before this match was a couple of years ago in Hasselt when the Ukrainian won 6-1 6-1. Asked about that she said:

"When I saw the head-to-head, I remembered how I played her once again [in Hasselt]. I remember playing her but I don't remember the match, it was so long ago."

Despite the win, Kostyuk also showed humility explaining that despite the convincing score she could not read Raducanu well. She mostly tried to put as many balls back in as possible hoping the force a mistake:

"It was quick, but I couldn't read her - if her ball is in, it's really tough to do something. I was trying to put as many balls back as I could, and that's it."