AfriPulse
Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal claimed straight-set wins to reach the third round of the China Open in Beijing.
British number one Raducanu was tested throughout by unseeded Spaniard Cristina Bucsa but battled to a 6-3 6-3 victory.
Kartal produced a powerful display to see off Australian 14th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-0 in little under an hour.
Kartal will meet Australian teenager Maya Joint in the last 32, while Raducanu faces American fifth seed Jessica Pegula.
World number 31 Raducanu, the 30th seed, managed only 16 winners to Bucsa’s 28, but maintained the upper hand in the key exchanges.
She saved six break points in a competitive first set before winning the final two games to seemingly take charge of the match.
Raducanu won the opening two games of the second but, after missing the chance to go 3-0 up, was pegged back as Bucsa finally broke serve to draw level at 2-2.
She broke back immediately and won four of the final five games.
Raducanu, who had a bye in the first round, was playing for the first time since losing to Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals of the Korea Open this month, when she missed three match points.
Source: Leadership.ng | Read the Full Story…
