Emma Raducanu advanced to the quarter-finals of the Korea Open by defeating eighth seed Yue Yuan in straight sets. The 21-year-old required seven match points to secure a hard-fought 6-4, 6-3 victory over the eighth seed.
Raducanu took the lead after a closely contested first set and surged ahead at the beginning of the second, fending off a comeback attempt from Yuan and serving eight aces during the second set. Raducanu had previously overcome American Peyton Stearns in the previous round to set up the meeting with Yuan, which was incredibly tight in the early stages.
The momentum shifted when Raducanu's solid forehands allowed her to level at 4-4, and she broke Yuan’s serve in the following game to take the lead. After taking a medical timeout, the Briton successfully served out the set and quickly regained control in the second set, breaking Yuan’s serve in the opening game before extending her lead, which included two aces. She won her sixth consecutive game of the match to go 3-0 up but was broken in the fourth game as Yuan pulled one back and began to apply pressure.
Although Yuan appeared to be finding her rhythm, Raducanu fought back to hold serve and further extend her lead in a closely contested sixth game. The eighth game saw seven deuces, and Raducanu missed five match points before Yuan eventually held serve, but the Briton prevented any late comeback by securing victory in the following game.
Afterwards, Raducanu commented: “I think my key to success today was letting go of any frustration that occurred. Closing out the match, I had many match points and couldn’t convert them, so staying focused and breaking in that last game was crucial.”
