- Emma Raducanu put the first point on the board for GB in the quarter-finals
- The 22-year-old beat Canada’s Rebecca Marino 6-0, 7-5 to put her country 1-0 up
Gangs of Brits have been known to do some damage on the Costa del Sol and the carnage continued as Emma Raducanu put GB within a match of the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals.
The 22-year-old beat Canada’s Rebecca Marino 6-0, 7-5 to put her country 1-0 up in this quarter-final tie, giving Katie Boulter the chance to finish the job against Leylah Fernandez. GB are the only nation here in Malaga yet to drop a set.
In the first set Raducanu played like someone with an early reservation at one of Malaga’s beachside fish restaurants; in 29 minutes she filleted Marino and barbecued her over hot coals.
This was a match-up between two women born in Toronto – the Raducanus left for England when Emma was two but she still holds dual citizenship. There were also more academic qualifications on show than usual for a tennis match. Raducanu has her top-mark A levels and Maino took a four-year break from tennis in 2013 to study English Literature at the University of British Columbia.
But it’ll take a damn site more than a working knowledge of post-modernism to stop Raducanu in this form. World No103 Marino worked her way into the match eventually but it was too late. The aggressive style captain Anne Keothavong has Boulter and Raducanu playing means opponents are given no time to find their feet at the start of a match.
From the first ball the British No2 was on attack mode, pummelling Marino’s serve and throwing every ounce of that slight but athletic frame into her forehands. She varied her spins so well, too: while Marino, with her flat, jabbing groundstrokes, was playing in straight lines, Raducanu dealt in curves and parabolas.
The 33-year-old looked utterly outclassed, especially in the backhand exchanges – her weaker side and Raducanu’s stronger.
Just as she did in beating Germany’s Jule Niemeier, Raducanu lost her footing somewhat in the second set – a consequence perhaps of that lack of match tightness. Marino settled and started to land a few more punches, causing Raducanu to take a backward step from her aggressive start.
The match became far more even but Raducanu won the big moments: 7/7 break points saved; 1/1 converted.
‘It was an incredibly difficult match because the dynamics were so different in the two sets,’ said the world No68. ‘Rebecca started swinging at every ball but I was really glad I was able to save my break points and then close it out.’
Should it be a surprise that Raducanu has produced this form having not played a match in two months? Not really.
She had a good couple of weeks training in London and is a player who takes great confidence from fine-tuning her game on the practice court. Raducanu arrived in Malaga with a souped up her serve, tweaking an ever-changing action which is into its third iteration this year.
There were only five aces compared to 10 in Friday’s win over Germany, but she landed 77 per cent of her first serves, getting the job done and improving her record to 5-1 when representing her country. Over to you, Katie.
