Emma Raducanu survives injury scare to make Korea Open quarter-finals
Emma Raducanu advanced to the quarter-finals of the Korea Open by defeating China's Yuan Yue in straight sets. The 21-year-old British player battled through the match, using seven match points to clinch a 6-4, 6-3 win against the eighth seed.
Raducanu took the lead after a tightly contested first set and then surged forward at the beginning of the second. Despite a strong attempt by Yuan to rally back, Raducanu maintained her advantage, firing off eight aces in the second set.
Raducanu had fought her way past American player Peyton Stearns in the last round, leading to her matchup against Yuan. The beginning of that match was extremely close and intense.
The tide turned when Raducanu landed a few strong forehand shots, bringing the score to 4-4. She then took advantage of the next game by breaking Yuan's serve, putting her in the lead.
Following a medical break, the British player resumed play and confidently wrapped up the first set. She continued her momentum into the second set, breaking Yuan's serve right from the start and widening her advantage, which featured two aces. She secured her sixth consecutive game to take a 3-0 lead, but Yuan managed to recover by breaking her serve in the fourth game, attempting to increase the pressure.
Even though Yuan seemed to be finding her groove, Raducanu rallied to maintain her serve and increase her advantage in a tightly contested sixth game. The eighth game was intense, featuring seven deuces, and Raducanu let slip five chances to secure the match before Yuan finally managed to hold serve. However, the British player quickly put an end to any hopes of a comeback by clinching the match in the next game.
After the match, Raducanu expressed: "I believe the secret to my success today was letting go of any frustration I felt. When it came time to finish the match, I had several match points but wasn’t able to convert them. It was really about keeping my focus and breaking through in that final game."
