Emma Raducanu brushed off her semifinal defeat in Washington D.C. with a straight-sets win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the Canadian Open on Monday.
Just two days after her loss to Anna Kalinskaya, Raducanu showed the fine form she showed in the U.S. capital was not a one-off as she cruised past the world No. 58 6-2, 6-4.
The Brit has been keen to get the pace of hard courts in preparation for the U.S. Open which begins on Aug. 17.
Raducanu was on the back foot in the opening stages as she staved off five break points on her serve in the second set. But she bounced back to rattle off five straight games,
Ruse was competitive in the second as the pair shared breaks, but it was Raducanu who was able to prevail and book her place in the second round.
“I’m happy to have come through that, I know Elena and she’s a very good friend of mine. It’s very difficult to play someone that you’re close to,” Raducanu said.
“So I’m really proud of how I put that to one side for the match and also backed up a good week last week in D.C. and performed well today.”
Raducanu will face American Peyton Stearns in the second round.
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