Emma Raducanu seals big win and valuable ranking points in Washington ahead of US Open

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Emma Raducanu

She didn’t have it all her own way in both sets, but Emma Raducanu showed a lot of encouraging signs during her second round win over Camila Osorio at the Citi Open.

Backing up one good display with another has been few and far between for Raducanu since her US Open win at Flushing Meadows last September, but the teenager has now produced two solid back-to-back performances in Washington DC.

Having beaten qualifier Louisa Chirico in straight sets on Tuesday, the British No 1 followed it up with a battling 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) win in two hours and 50 minutes over world No 67 Osorio.

Raducanu was quick off the mark as, after a comfortable hold, she played a solid return game to find herself 15-40 up and she broke at the second time of asking before an excellent service game saw her go 3-0 up.

After the Colombian saved a break point in game six, she turned the screw on the Raducanu serve in an elongated seventh game that went to deuce seven times before Osorio broke.

Two games later and the Colombian was ahead of serve with a second break, but Raducanu rallied to strike back immediately as it went to the tie-breaker.

The 19-year-old initially found herself behind the ball game with Osorio leading the mini-break count 3-2, but broke again to level it at 5-5 before a second break earned her the first set point, which she duly took to secure the 82-minute opening set.

Raducanu again had the early advantage in the second set courtesy a break in game three as Osorio started to flounder. The Colombian required treatment on a blister on her foot midway through the set, but she struggled on her own serve while Raducanu held a couple of games to love.

But Osorio went down fighting and another extended game on the Raducanu serve went to four deuces four before the Colombian broke at the fifth time of asking.

Yet again the Brit showed her mettle as she produced another quick turnaround to break back and give herself the chance to serve it out only for her opponent to break again.

Raducanu needed a medical timeout before coming out to serve to stay in the match and it was a solid hold to take the match to a second tie-breaker.

Emma Raducanu prepared to start over if her ranking plummets

After opening a 4-2 lead, Raducanu lost her serve as Osorio closed the gap, but the world No 10 re-established her advantage and then held her two serves to wrap up the win.

Raducanu will face Luidmila Samsonova in the quarter-final and Thursday’s win will not only give her confidence for the extended hard-court season, but also give her rankings a small boost as she has added 55 points to her tally to move to 2772, which could be crucial ahead of the defence of her US Open crown.

Camila Osorio Emma Raducanu

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