Emma Raducanu claimed her first victory in the China Open with a straight-sets success against Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in Beijing.
As the 30th seed, Raducanu received a bye in the first round but she looked sharp from the start in a high-quality 6-3 6-3 victory.
Raducanu had faced Bucsa twice before this season – losing narrowly in Singapore and then winning comfortably on the grass at Queen’s Club – and there was little to choose between them in a compelling first set.
The difference was Raducanu’s serve, with the British No 1 saving six break points, four of them in the opening game, and hitting four aces.
Raducanu made the breakthrough in the eighth game, with Bucsa serving a double fault on break point and the 22-year-old extended her run of games to five to lead 2-0 in the second set.
She missed a chance to make it six and was then broken for the only time in the match, but Raducanu quickly got on the front foot again and powered through to a third-round clash with fifth seed Jessica Pegula.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the second round match between Mirra Andreeva and Lin Zhu at the China Open.
It was a special win for Raducanu – whose mother is from China – and she looked noticeably happier than she did last week in Korea, when she held match points against Barbora Krejcikova only to lose.
“Super difficult, Cristina was playing amazing,” she said on Sky Sports. “I’m very happy to have gotten over it and after a tough one last week to bounce back. I really want to do well here. I’m half-Chinese so it’s great to come back here.”
Raducanu then received hearty applause from the local fans for speaking in Mandarin.
Kartal and Swiatek also claim victories
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from the China Open where Iga Swiatek becomes the first player to register 25 or more wins at WTA-1000 events for three consecutive seasons with victory over Yue Yuan.
Britain’s Sonay Kartal also came through after a very impressive 6-3 6-0 victory over 14th seed Daria Kasatkina – her third win against a top-20 player this season.
And Kartal will have high hopes of going further with unseeded Australian Maya Joint up next.
Top seed Iga Swiatek wasted little time in beating Yue Yuan 6-0 6-3, becoming the first player to register 25 or more wins at WTA 1000 events for three consecutive seasons.
Wimbledon champion Swiatek, who won last week’s Korea Open in Seoul, has also won the French Open four times and the US Open once among her six Grand Slam singles titles.
US Open semi-finalist Naomi Osaka was upset 1-6 6-4 6-2 by Aliaksandra Sasnovich, while Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, made her return on home soil following elbow surgery with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Emiliana Arango.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Sky Sports in 2025. Stream tennis and more sport contract-free with NOW.