DUBAI: Emma Raducanu of Great Britain eased past Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1, to kick off the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Monday in the United Arab Emirates.
Raducanu, the surprise winner of the 2021 US Open, received a wild card into the tournament after sitting out most of 2023 due to surgeries on both wrists and one ankle. She broke Bouzkova’s serve seven times in nine opportunities and had a 23-15 advantage in total winners. Her next opponent will be Tunisian second seed Ons Jabeur.
No. 6 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil beat Xiyu Wang of China 6-2, 7-6 (4), rallying from a 3-0 hole in the second set and a 4-2 deficit in the ensuing tiebreaker. No. 7 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia got past France’s Diane Parry 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
In an all-American matchup, Ashlyn Krueger beat Bernarda Pera 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, and Romania’s Sorana Cirstea eked past France’s Caroline Garcia 6-7 (4), 6-4 6-4.
Transylvania Open
Dutch No. 1 seed Arantxa Rus had three aces and saved four of five break points to open her week with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Belgium’s Greet Minnen in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
No. 3 seed Anna Blinkova of Russia also cleaned up, needing just 69 minutes to beat Switzerland’s Simona Waltert 6-3, 6-0.
Two other seeded players weren’t as lucky. Colombia’s Camila Osorio upset No. 7 seed Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-4, and Argentine No. 9 seed Nadia Podoroska fell to Denmark’s Clara Tauson, 6-3, 6-1.
Eighth seed Ana Bogdan of Romania and Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz also won their first-round matches.
