Emma Raducanu drilled six aces while recording a 6-2, 6-1 victory over wild card Sayaka Ishii in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday.
Raducanu converted 5 of 6 break points while defeating the 19-year-old from the Japan in just 65 minutes.
“I was just so focused on every point and trying to compete,” Raducanu said afterward. “That was my main objective today, just trying my best every point and bringing some energy, bringing some competitiveness. I think that’s maybe been missing in the past couple of months. I’m really proud of that. It’s just nice to win in two sets and less than two and a half hours.”
Raducanu won the final four games of the first set and the first five of the second while rolling to the win.
The Brit next faces No. 8 seed Emma Navarro in the second round.
“It’s going to be an extremely challenging match,” Raducanu said. “She’s probably in better form, so I can go out and express myself and try and compete for every point.”
Raducanu also is in the process of finding another new coach. She had Vladimir Platenik as her coach for her one match at Indian Wells earlier this month, but her management team confirmed Wednesday that there was a parting of the ways.
American McCartney Kessler won four of her final five games to post a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic. Kessler saved 6 of 12 break points.
Two other Americans won their matches while two went down to defeat.
Bernarda Pera sailed to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2, and Peyton Stearns registered a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Brit Katie Boulter.
Alexandra Eala of The Philippines notched a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Katie Volynets, and Austria’s Julia Grabher produced to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tyra Caterina Grant.
Caroline Garcia of France notched a 6-0, 7-6 (5) victory over Anna Bondar of Hungary.
In other matches, 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko knocked off Columbia’s Camila Osorio 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, and Armenia’s Elina Avanesyan produced a 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory over Russian Erika Andreeva. Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima defeated the Netherland’s Suzan Lamens 6-4, 6-3.
Anna Blinkova rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Kamilla Rakhimova in an All-Russian affair. Australian Kimberly Birrell outlasted Russian Anastasia Potapova 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), and Russian Veronika Kudermetova cruised to a 6-2, 7-6 (5) win over China’s Wang Xinyu.
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic pulled out a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 win over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska. Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus routed Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-1, and Egypt’s Mayar Sherif edged New Zealand’s Lulu Sun 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
