By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday April 29, 2022

 

Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu were victorious on their debut in Madrid, as was former quarterfinalist Naomi Osaka.

Photo Source: Getty

Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu each claimed their first main draw match wins at the Madrid Open, while 2019 quarterfinalist Naomi Osaka got on track with an impressive triumph, on Friday.



Raducanu rallied from 5-2 down in the opening set to defeat Tereza Martincova, 7-6(3), 6-0, and set a second-round clash with 19-year-old Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Denmark's Clara Tauson 6-3, 6-2.

Raducanu is still very much learning the ropes on the surface. Playing in just her second WTA event on clay, she improved to 4-2 on the surface and 2-0 against Martincova, whom she defeated at Billie Jean King Cup earlier this spring.

Raducanu won 11 of the final 12 games of the match to improve to 6-7 on the year. She is playing her first event since announcing that she parted ways with German coach Torben Beltz. Starting at the end of 2021, the pair worked together for five months.

Andreescu made a stellar main draw debut, rallying past American Alison Riske in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. The 21-year-old Canadian will face Danielle Collins in the second round.

“If I didn't win the first set, who knows what would have happened in the second,” Andreescu said of the match. “But I definitely, in my next match, [want to] work more on my composure. I felt like that kind of got the best of me a little bit in the second set.

“I kind of just switched something on afterwards, like in the third, because that's basically how I want to play. So I want to be able to consistently play that way. But overall I'm happy.”

Osaka Eases Past Istanbul Champion Potapova

It was a solid start for Osaka as well on Friday. The current World No.36 surged past Anastasia Potapova, 6-3, 6-1.

She continues to operate in a positive mindset, believing that patience and happiness will help her unlock her potential on the clay.

“I'm honestly trying to be more positive with myself,” she told reporters after the match. “Like this year I came a week early to train on red clay, so just trying to give myself more chances to do better.”

Osaka needed just 61 minutes to dispatch the 21-year-old World No.78.

She only made 46.8 percent of her first serves but won 19 of 22 first-serve points and saved one of two break points to lock up the win with relative ease.

“I feel like this match for me was really nice,” Osaka said. “She's very confident. I don't know. To be able to do it in two sets, for me, it's a really good starting block.”

Osaka will face either Sara Sorribes Tormo or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in round two.