Raducanu makes quick work of return to grass in Nottingham

Emma Raducanu's decision to skip Roland Garros in order to focus on the grass-court swing paid off in her first outing on the surface, a 70-minute 6-1, 6-4 defeat of qualifier Ena Shibahara in the first round of the Rothesay Open.

No.209-ranked wild card Raducanu was playing her first match on grass since Wimbledon 2022; this time last year, she was confined to a mobility scooter as she recuperated from multiple wrist and ankle surgeries. She leapt out to a 6-1, 5-1 lead in dominant fashion before holding off a late charge from Shibahara to close out the win in straight sets.

"It's been quite a few weeks since I last played a competitive match, so I didn't really know how it was going to go," Raducanu said in the on-court interview. "But I think my intentions were great from the start of the match, and I played a really good match. At the end, I think inevitably if you're 6-1, 5-1 up, it could probably go wrong, so I tried to not let it get to my head."

Former doubles No.4 Shibahara has been shifting her focus to singles this year, and has raised her ranking over 250 places since January to its current No.274. She came into this match with a 30-8 record this season, and her serve-and-volley tactics posed a unique challenge for Raducanu.

"All credit to Ena, she's making it very tricky on the grass courts with the serve-and-volley and it's very tough to find a way past, but I'm pleased with how I dealt with the circumstances today," said Raducanu.

The Briton found a lob to break Shibahara in the opening game and then a superb pass to gain the double break for 4-1. The second of those was part of a seven-game streak in which Raducanu was in full control; Shibahara's strategy was only intermittently effective against the former US Open champion's solidity.

From 5-1 down in the second set, Shibahara raised her game to break Raducanu twice, with the latter also contributing an increased number of errors. But at 5-4, Raducanu regained her focus, coming up with a brilliantly angled return winner en route to breaking Shibahara for the win.

In the second round, Raducanu will bid to reach her second quarterfinal of the year against Daria Snigur. For the second year running, the No.127-ranked Ukrainian delivered an upset of Nottingham's No.2 seed in the first round. Twelve months ago, Snigur defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 6-3; on Tuesday, she took out her compatriot Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-3.

Highlights: Snigur d. Kostyuk

Snigur maintains her perfect record against Top 20 opposition to three wins and no losses. A former Wimbledon junior champion, the 22-year-old from Kyiv demonstrated that her unusual flat hitting continues to make her a threat on grass in the pro ranks.

Photos: 2024's winners from match point down | 2024's three-hour matches

Elsewhere, former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria came through a 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) thriller to deny Emiliana Arango in 3 hours and 24 minutes, saving six match points in total. It was a match that featured plenty of old-school grass-court style as both players sought to get to net wherever possible, and ultimately the 36-year-old triumphed to set up a second-round meeting with No.5 seed Magdalena Frech.