Fresh from a statement victory on her comeback appearance, Emma Raducanu continues her Korea Open journey on Thursday, when she faces eighth seed Yue Yuan in the second round.
The former US Open champion eliminated the USA's Peyton Stearns after two gruelling sets, while her Chinese opponent fought back from a tricky start to beat qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse first up.
Match preview
© Imago
On account of her much-maligned decision to skip Cincinnati and Canadian Open qualifying before a first-round US Open exit, Raducanu came into Tuesday's first-round with Stearns having incredibly not won a match since defeating the same opponent at the Citi Open in July.
As was the case in Washington DC several weeks ago, a fired-up Raducanu got the job done in straight sets, albeit not without a monumental effort as she prevailed 7-6[4] 7-6[5] in a two-hour and 43-minute battle, one that was also halted for almost an hour due to the sweltering conditions.
Neither Raducanu nor Stearns enjoyed fruitful afternoons behind their own racquet, with eight double faults apiece and 28 break points between them over the course of the contest, and the American looked on course to force a third as she clawed her way back from 3-5 down to 6-5 up in the second.
However, Raducanu chose the perfect time to notch her sixth break of the match before once again prevailing in a gritty tie-breaker, closing out the second-longest straight sets match of the 2024 WTA Tour in sublime style, with a terrific defensive forehand return preceding a powerful winner on the same side.
Now boasting six wins from her last seven matches against players ranked in the WTA's top 50, the 21-year-old was unsurprisingly far from her peak performance in Tuesday's taxing opener, although her upcoming foe also had to do it the hard way in round one.
© Imago
Sharing Raducanu's US Open pain with a first-round loss to Erika Andreeva, world number 40 Yuan was on course to be the victim of a Seoul shock against Romanian qualifier Ruse, who raced into a 3-0 lead in their first-round tie and broke the Chinese player three times.
However, Yuan quickly dusted off the cobwebs and made light work of her unfancied opponent from thereon in, triumphing 4-6 6-2 6-2 in two hours and six minutes after not facing a single break point throughout the entirety of the second or third sets.
Reaching a career-high ranking of world number 36 back in May, is ultimately aiming to go one better than last year's Korea Open, where she advanced all the way to the final - her first on the WTA Tour - before suffering heartache at the hands of Jessica Pegula.
Eleven months later, Yuan now has a coveted top-level title to her name - beating compatriot Wang Xiyu to win the ATX Open in March - but 2024 was forgettable on the Grand Slam front, as the 25-year-old suffered first-round exits at all four majors.
Even though several high-profile names pulled out of the Korea Open before it began, including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, whichever competitor triumphs in Thursday's battle may have to go through top seed Daria Kasatkina to reach the semi-finals in Seoul.
Tournament so far
Emma Raducanu:
First round: vs. Peyton Stearns 7-6[4] 7-6[5]
Yue Yuan:
First round: Elena-Gabriela Ruse 4-6 6-2 6-2
Head To Head
Thursday's showdown will see Raducanu and Yuan - who both play right-handed - face off on the WTA Tour for the first time, although there are 30 places separating the 70th-ranked Brit and 40th-ranked Chinese player in the WTA standings.
Yuan also has a slight physical edge on the 2021 US Open champion, coming in at 5ft 10in tall compared to Raducanu's 5ft 7in frame, although the Briton's 60% win rate for 2024 (18 victories from 30 matches) is superior to Yuan's 54.5% (24 successes from 44).
We say: Raducanu to win in three sets
A full day of rest and recuperation is just what the doctor ordered for Raducanu after such a draining first-round battle, in which she was understandably not firing on all cylinders as she committed a whopping 50 unforced errors.
Such mistakes could potentially prove fatal against a player with Korea Open pedigree in Yuan, but given her affinity for defeating top-50 players, we have faith in Raducanu to progress to the quarters, even if she has to do it in three.
Ben Knapton
