“I’m Starting to like Clay More and More,” Emma Raducanu Admits After Powering past Daria Kasatkina in Strasbourg
Emma Raducanu earns her first win over Daria Kasatkina in their fourth meeting to reach the second round of the Strasbourg Open.
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Emma Raducanu and Daria Kasatkina (via X/The Tennis Letter)
Emma Raducanu continued her impressive form on clay by beating former World No.8 Daria Kasatkina in the opening round of the Strasbourg Open. The British star never intended to play at the tournament until last week when she accepted a wildcard. She revealed after her victory against Kasatkina that she’s now beginning to love playing on clay.
Raducanu has often tried to skip the clay-court season to prepare hard for the grass-court swing. Last year, she only competed in two clay tournaments while taking part in three grass events. This season, she made a few changes to her schedule. Despite skipping the Open de Rouen, she has competed in three clay events already.
She opened her clay campaign at the Madrid Open, where she claimed only one victory before losing to Marta Kostyuk in the second round. In Rome, she performed better than in Madrid, winning her first two matches before she was crushed by the Italian Open finalist Coco Gauff in straight sets.
After the loss, she accepted a wildcard into the Strasbourg Open with an aim to use the competition to build her confidence ahead of the French Open. She did that against Kasatkina in the first round, outplaying the Australian to win 6-1, 6-3. It was her first victory over the former World No.8 after losing their previous three meetings.
After the match, Raducanu was excited about her performance against Kasatkina, but was more impressed by her adaptability to the surface. She revealed during her on-court interview that she has begun to ‘build a relationship with clay’ as she spends more time playing on the surface. She said, via Strasbourg press:
I think I've been building towards this. It's a great feeling because I think I had three great matches in Rome, and the fourth I played an opponent who was better than me on the day [Coco Gauff]. To kind of bring that level here, I'm really proud. But I think as I spend more time on clay, I'm starting to like it a little bit more and more. I'm building my relationship with the surface.
After Raducanu lost to Kostyuk in the second round of the Madrid Open, she complained about her movement on the surface. On Monday (May 19), she moved better, sliding on the red dirt and hitting well. She will look forward to continuing on the form ahead of the French Open, which begins on May 25.
Emma Raducanu impressed with her performance against Daria Kasatkina in Strasbourg
Emma Raducanu was aggressive on return from the very first game against Daria Kasatkina in the first round of the Strasbourg Open. She quickly built up her lead against the Australian and just needed 29 minutes to lead 6-1. The second set was much tighter as both players struggled with their serves. Raducanu, then spoke about her performance:
Raducanu held the lead and made sure she stayed on top before eventually sealing the victory 6-1, 6-3. The loss was Kasatkina’s 12th of the season. She has been playing poorly this season and has only earned 11 wins on tour. Meanwhile, Raducanu was excited about her victory against the former World No.8.
I'm really proud of my performance. How I came out and I was really aggressive. I also managed to maintain my focus in the second set when it was getting close and Daria was playing some great points when I was trying to serve the match out so I'm really proud of today's performance.
Raducanu will face Danielle Collins in the second round of the WTA 500 event. Collins finished as the runner-up last year after losing to Madison Keys in the final. It will be the first meeting between Collins and Raducanu on tour.
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