Emma Raducanu returned to the clay court with a determined victory, defeating Suzan Lamens 7-6(4), 6-4 in the opening round of the Madrid Open. The win marked Raducanu’s first match on clay in over a year and her first victory at the tournament since 2022.
The British No. 2 was watched courtside by Mark Petchey, her “informal” coach and former advisor to Andy Murray. Also in her box was friend and mentor Jane O’Donoghue. While Raducanu hasn’t hired a full-time coach since splitting with Nick Cavaday in January, her current setup appears to be working well. “It’s pretty informal for now,” Raducanu told Sky Sports before the tournament. “He’s someone I feel I can trust… and it’s nice to be with someone that I feel comfortable with.”
Despite trailing by a break in both sets, Raducanu battled back each time. Lamens, ranked 73rd in the world, had been in strong recent form, having defeated British No. 1 Katie Boulter and made a semi-final run in Rouen, but couldn’t hold off Raducanu’s late push.
In the first set, the 22-year-old Brit saved three break points before forcing a tiebreak, which she won from 2-3 down. In the second, she recovered quickly after being broken early and pulled ahead after trading further breaks to serve out the match.
Next up, Raducanu faces 24th seed Marta Kostyuk in the second round. The two are level at 1-1 in their head-to-head, with Raducanu having previously beaten Kostyuk in Madrid three years ago.
