‘It’s funny’ – Emma Raducanu reflects on her confrontation with Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk

Emma Raducanu caught the eye with her impressive US Open 2021 campaign. Entering the tournament as a qualifier, the British tennis sensation won the title. She beat Leylah Fernandez in the final 6-4, 6-3 to lift the biggest trophy of her career. Additionally, she didn’t drop a set during the tournament, dominating her opponents from start to finish.

Subsequently, Raducanu took a huge leap in his WTA rankings. She is currently ranked 11th in the WTA rankings. The 19-year-old is in Spain to take part in the Madrid Open.

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Earlier, in the first round, she picked up a dominating 7-6(3), 6-0 win over Tereza Martincova from the Czech Republic. Also, after the game, she talked about facing Martha Kostyuk in the second round.

Emma Raducanu talks about her fight against Martha Kostyuk

The two Next Generation stars had an intriguing rivalry during their junior days. Reflecting on her next game against Ukrainian Raducanu mentioned, “Throughout the juniors, she was always the favorite when we played. She was considered much better. Yeah, it’s funny. When we played last year, she played very well, but I wasn’t very well that day either. So it will be an interesting match.

Raducanu had faced Kostyuk at the Transylvania Open in Romania last year. However, the British star obediently lost to Kostyuk in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.

Raducanu had a disappointing start to the 2022 season by his standards. She lost in the Australian Open second round to Danka Kovinic in a three-set thriller. Additionally, she also had a disappointing run in the Sunshine Double.

Raducanu had a third-round and second-round exit in Indian Wells and Miami, respectively. His best result this year was a quarter-final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Germany.

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Can Raducanu win his first title this season in Madrid? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.