Emma Raducanu survives rollercoaster to beat Peyton Stearns in tricky start to Korea Open

Emma Raducanu came through a rollercoaster first-round match to beat Peyton Stearns at the Korea Open. A former semi-finalist in Seoul, the Brit started her campaign with a hard-fought 7-6(4) 7-6(5) win. It took two hours and 46 minutes for Raducanu to get the job done in straight sets. It’s her first win since late July when she also defeated Stearns en route to the last eight in Washington.

Raducanu was back in action for the first time since she suffered a disappointing first-round defeat at the US Open and teared up in her post-match press conference. World No. 48 Stearns also hadn’t played since her third-round exit in Flushing Meadows. The British No. 3 pounced first, breaking immediately courtesy of a Stearns double fault. But it was just the start of a cat-and-mouse opening set. Raducanu immediately relinquished her advantage before breaking again when the American blew a 40-15 lead on her own serve.

Raducanu was the first to hold serve, taking a 3-1 lead. Stearns was still thrown after failing to close out the third game and she quickly gave Raducanu a double-break lead with another double fault. Momentum suddenly switched again. Leading 4-1 40-0, the former US Open champion suffered a collapse, getting broken. It was the first of four games in a row won by Stearns, who got back on serve and put herself in the lead for the first time.

Raducanu recovered, breaking to serve for the set at 6-5. But the American refused to go away, forcing a tiebreak. Stearns raced into a 3-1 lead before the Brit won five points in a row, giving herself a set point. It appeared she had won it when she hit a huge first serve and started heading back to her bench. But Stearns challenged and the ball was called out. Now forced to continue the set on a second serve, Raducanu hit a double fault. It took 74 minutes for her to finally win the first set, taking it on the next point.

Things didn’t get any easier. The world No. 70 needed 16 minutes to hold serve at the beginning of the second set, saving three break points. Stearns was dragged into a marathon game at 2-3 but she held on to draw level, denying Raducanu two chances to break. After saving two more break points, Raducanu finally attacked the Stearns serve and broke to serve for the match. It still wasn’t over there – the Brit came back from 15-40 down only to get broken anyway and the twists kept coming.

Stearns suddenly stepped up, finding her forehand and breaking to serve for the set at 6-5 while Raducanu looked like she was running out of gas. The American couldn’t get it done though. Just like Raducanu in the first set, she was broken to go into a tiebreak. It was another see-saw – both women struggled to hold serve with constant mini-breaks going back and forth. But Raducanu refused to let the match slip away from her and finally got the job done after two hours and 46 minutes. It was a scrappy contest – there were 110 unforced errors between both women by the end of the marathon battle.

“It was tough, it was very humid, the balls were bouncing around a lot. It was a tough match to get through. I haven’t played many matches in the last few months and Peyton, she’s a really good player in really good form so I’m pretty pleased,” Raducanu told the crowd after getting through. “I really love playing here in Seoul and I missed it last year but one of the tournaments that I really want come back to and I actually think it gave me some fuel to fight in that match just so I can play another match in front of you guys.”