Raducanu fights off Stearns in two-set marathon to win Seoul opener

SEOUL -- Emma Raducanu earned her first win of the Hologic WTA Tour Asian swing the hard way, holding off No.49 Peyton Stearns 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in the first round of the Hana Bank Korea Open.

A semifinalist in 2022, Raducanu will face last year's runner-up No.40 Yuan Yue next. Raducanu has now won six of her last seven matches against Top 50 opposition. 

On a hot and humid day that saw play delayed for 45 minutes due to excessive heat, Raducanu and Stearns slugged it out for 2 hours and 43 minutes before the 2021 US Open champion prevailed. The physical match featured a combined tally of 28 break points and 12 breaks of serve. Raducanu served for both sets but was forced into a tiebreak twice by Stearns. It was the second-longest straight-sets match of 2024 so far, following Sara Sorribes Tormo's 7-6(0), 6-3 defeat of Victoria Azarenka in the Madrid third round at 2 hours and 50 minutes.

The victory is Raducanu's first since defeating Stearns in Washington D.C. in July. She improved to 2-0 against the American.

The 74-minute opening set proved the difference for Raducanu, who nearly let a 4-1 lead slip before holding off Stearns. Playing her first match since a first-round loss to Sofia Kenin at the US Open, Raducanu stormed to a 4-1, 40-0 lead with a sharp display of aggressive hitting. But after a hot stretch during which she won 14 of 16 points, Raducanu dropped nine of the next 10 points. 

Stearns swept away her double-break deficit to level the match at 5-5 but gave up her fourth break of the set to give Raducanu a chance to serve out the set at 6-5. There, Stearns saved two set points before breaking with a powerful second-serve return to take the set to a tiebreak after 66 minutes.

In the tiebreak, Raducanu built a 4-3 lead before Stearns misfired on back-to-back groundstrokes to give the Brit the daylight she needed. Raducanu closed out the marathon set.

But the first set was simply a preview of an even longer 89-minute second set. While the opening set featured eight breaks of serve, the second went with the server through the first seven games. Stearns had a prime opportunity to break at 3-3, but Raducanu saved two break points to hold to 4-3 and then broke the weary American to earn a chance to serve out the win.

Just as she had in the opening set, Stearns broke back and, this time, put herself in position to serve to take the match into a third. Raducanu responded with a remarkable return game, blasting winners into the open court at will to break back and take the match into another tiebreak. Once again, Raducanu played the more clinical tennis when it mattered, closing out the win on her second match point. 

Raducanu's win was one of a series of upsets on Day 2 in Seoul. The day began with No.46 Amanda Anisimova ousting No.30 Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 7-6(5). No.102 Hailey Baptiste followed suit, defeating No.65 Sloane Stephens 7-6(4), 6-2. 

Seoul R1 highlights: Baptiste d. Stephens | P.Kudermetova d. Hon | Tomova d. Maria

Lucky loser Polina Kudermetova, who moved into the main draw after Guadalajara champion Magdalena Frech withdrew, toppled Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon 7-5, 6-4. She joins older sister Veronika in the second round -- the second time both Kudermetovas have reached the second round of a WTA tournament following 's-Hertogenbosch 2023.