British star Emma Raducanu continued her stunning form on clay as she sealed an emphatic win against Angelique Kerber at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart on Wednesday.
Raducanu, ranked 303rd in the world as she continues her comeback from double wrist surgery, has struggled with form and injuries since her fairytale US Open title in 2021.
But the 21-year-old, who was in inspired form at the weekend as she helped Great Britain qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in stunning fashion with a 3-1 win over France, continued where she left off by dismantling home favourite Kerber 6-2 6-1.
Former world No 1 Kerber only recently returned from 18 months out on maternity leave and it showed throughout.
Raducanu got off to a flying start by breaking Kerber in the opening game and despite an immediate response from the German, the Briton took control and claimed the first set in 41 minutes.
Kerber was broken again at the start of the second set and although she managed to haul back level, Raducanu stepped up a gear and shrugged off a brief visit from the trainer to wrap up an emphatic win.
Tale of the Tape
US Open champion Coco Gauff battled her way to the quarter-finals of the same event earlier on Wednesday with a hard-fought 6-3 4-6 7-5 win over compatriot Sachia Vickery.
The 134th-ranked Vickery created 19 break points but could only convert seven of them against world No 3 Gauff, who rallied from 4-2 down in the final set to win.
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur finally snapped a five-game losing streak to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-1), telling reporters: “I thought about withdrawing so many times because I couldn’t take another loss.”
In Rouen, Naomi Osaka’s return to clay was cut short by a 6-4 6-2 first-round defeat to Martina Trevisan.
Like Kerber, Osaka only recently returned to the tour following maternity leave, and was competing as a wild card.
In the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal, Britain’s fifth-seeded Harriet Dart suffered a 6-3 6-1 defeat to home player Matilde Jorge.
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