Emma keeps up red-hot form to rout Kerber
AFTER the purple patch in Le Portel there was a solid start in Stuttgart for Emma Raducanu.
The 21-year-old continued to look every inch a clay- courter as she beat former world No1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-1 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Last week Raducanu had her best couple of days on court since her 2021 US Open title as she won two three-set matches to lead Great Britain to victory over France in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Last night’s match offered the curious sight of two former Grand Slam champions both ranked outside the world’s top 300. Raducanu is rebuilding after injuries and Kerber returned at the start of the year having given birth last February. The 36- year- old is still rediscovering her sea-legs on tour but is always a tough nut to crack. Raducanu did a fine job of maintaining her aggression, going after her opponent’s second serve and avoiding the grinding, street-fighting rallies at which Kerber excels.
‘It’s not easy playing Angie, she has so much history behind her,’ said Raducanu. ‘It wasn’t always the prettiest match but I just tried not to get bogged down and stay positive.’
From a player 15 years her senior Raducanu now faces Linda Noskova, two years her junior. Noskova, 19, is the latest female talent off the seemingly endless Czech production line and will be a stern test of Raducanu’s blossoming clay-court form.
In Barcelona, Rafael Nadal was happy with his level despite losing 7-5, 6-1 to Australia’s Alex de Minaur. The 37-year-old Spaniard was playing just his second event of what will almost certainly be the final year of his career. ‘I was able to show myself, most importantly, and the rest of the world, that my level was there to compete,’ said Nadal. ‘I didn’t practise a lot, so that’s encouraging me to keep going.’