Raducanu breezes past Martincova in Madrid

Emma Raducanu bested Tereza Martincova for the 2nd time in a few weeks as she sailed into the 2nd round of the Madrid Open.

Raducanu and Martincova share some history on clay courts as the Czech player will be remembered as Raducanu's first-ever clay opponent in her career. Not only was she her first opponent, but she was also the first player she defeated on clay and now she did it again. Contrary to that Billie Jean King Cup affair, Raducanu was even more impressive in this one.

She started off slowly in the first set losing her serve early and giving Martincova a confidence boost. Neither offered much variety in their play and both traded blows from the baseline. Raducanu continued chipping away at her opponent but it was only late in the set that she found a breakthrough. She made it 5-5 and the match went into the tiebreak.

It was a topsy-turvy one with Raducanu emerging 7-3. As Raducanu started hitting better and more consistently, her opponent went the other way. More and more mistakes with less and less confidence in her play left Martincova in a tough spot as Raducanu continued shining. The Brit ultimately finished it off with 6-0.