Emma Raducanu ended her four-match losing streak on Sunday as she earned a convincing victory over world No. 29 Maria Sakkari that the 22-year-old Brit said had made her “really proud.”
Raducanu took one hour and 20 minutes to overcome her Greek opponent in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships, breaking Sakkari in the opening game of both sets on her way to a 6-4 6-2 win.
“I just tried to stay really focused on the point in front of me,” Raducanu said. “There were some momentum shifts throughout the match and when I got broken twice early in the sets I just regrouped really well and I managed to break back [immediately] both times.
“I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria, she’s a top player, been as high as three in the world. I’m just really proud of my performance.”
Raducanu crashed out of the Australian Open in January after a thrashing from the world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the third round and had failed to record a win in her next three matches.
She suffered her third consecutive opening round defeat on Feb. 9 in Qatar, losing in straight-sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova. She had been knocked out in the first round of the Singapore and Abu Dhabi Open in the weeks prior.
But Sunday’s victory means Raducanu has won all three of her career matches against Sakkari without dropping a single set — one of which came during her stunning US Open semifinals triumph in 2021.
Asked about her 100% record, Raducanu said: “I think in a way we play quite similar, she’s really athletic. I’m not necessarily going to give all my tactics away, it’s just a very difficult match every time we play so I’m happy to have won on all these occasions in all big tournaments and very happy to get through to the next round.”
Raducanu will play Karolina Muchova in the second round on Tuesday.
