Raducanu rallies to win the Transylvania
Emma Raducanu rallied to beat Polona Hercog of Slovenia 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 at the Transylvania Open on Tuesday for her first win since her stunning run to the U.S. Open title more than six weeks ago.
It was also the teenager’s first victory on the WTA Tour.
“Super happy to get my first ever WTA win today,” the 18-year-old Raducanu wrote on Twitter.
Raducanu, whose father is Romanian, became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament. Less than two weeks later, she split from her coach, Andrew Richardson. She had only played in Indian Wells since, falling in the opening round.
The 23rd-ranked Raducanu, of Britain, lost five straight games from 4-1 up in the opening set against Hercog but eased to victory after breaking her 124thranked opponent at 6-5 in the second.
• Stefanos Tsitsipas saved three set points before beating Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (6), 6-4 to join Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in the second round of the Erste Bank Open.
Zverev also advanced in straight sets but had to rally from 5-2 down in the second to overcome Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 7-5.
The top-seeded Tsitsipas, who lost to Dimitrov in the second round last year, was 6-3 down in the tiebreaker before reeling off five straight points to claim the opening set.
Tsitsipas converted his first match point with Dimitrov serving at 5-4 when the 22nd-ranked-Bulgarian hit a forehand wide.
The third-ranked Greek, who is striving for his third title of the season, next plays Frances Tiafoe, who defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-4.
• Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated that unvaccinated tennis players will be allowed to enter the country for the Australian Open provided they undergo two weeks in hotel quarantine.
Morrison moved to clarify the border situation a week after his immigration minister suggested there’d be a no jab, no visa policy for the tournament next January.
Morrison told Australian television networks there are exemptions to the strict COVID-19 pandemic international border protection rules for those who qualify under skilled worker or economic benefit criteria.
“If there is a special exemption that is warranted for an economic reason, well, that can happen,” he said. “But you’ve got to follow the health rules in that state — and two weeks quarantine for unvaccinated people, well, that’s sensible,” Morrison told Australia’s Nine network.
He said the ultimate decision was for the state of Victoria, which hosts the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Victoria has a mandatory vaccination policy in place for athletes competing in domestic leagues.