Emma Raducanu fights off jet lag for late-night Washington win over Elise Mertens

Emma Raducanu overcame the effects of jet lag to defeat Elise Mertens in three sets during the first round of the Washington Open.

The 21-year-old tennis player from Britain, ranked as the third best in the country, emerged victorious with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 against the eighth-seeded player from Belgium. The intense match concluded after 11pm in Washington D.C.

Raducanu won the last time they played each other at Wimbledon a few weeks ago. They only lost three games that match. It seemed like Raducanu was going to have a similar victory this time as they won five games in a row to easily win the first set. However, Raducanu started to struggle in the second set, possibly because of the long journey to the US.

"I played well in some parts of the game, especially in the first set and at times in the third set," she explained. "I struggled to stay focused in the second set. It's tough to play at 11:30 am. I arrived here on Thursday night so I'm still feeling the effects of jet lag. I kept telling myself, 'I'm not giving up. I refuse to lose this match.'"

Mertens made a comeback in the second set by reducing her mistakes and capitalizing on her only opportunity to break serve. This allowed her to even the score after the former US Open champion had a 40-0 lead in the sixth game.

Raducanu managed to take an early lead in the final set, but unfortunately couldn't capitalize on her 3-1 advantage as Mertens fought back and tied the score at 3-3. Despite saving five break points, Raducanu was eventually broken by Mertens. Even though she managed to break back, Mertens quickly responded by breaking Raducanu as she served for the match.

However, this only postponed the inevitable result, as Raducanu reached match point with a backhand volley and ultimately won with the help of Mertens's 11th double fault.