Emma Raducanu stepped up for Great Britain again to give Anne Keothavong’s side a 1-0 lead over defending champions Canada in their Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final.
The former US Open champion defeated Rebecca Marino 6-0 7-5 to extend her record in the competition to five wins and only one defeat, including four victories from as many matches this year.
Having raced through the first set in less than half an hour, Raducanu was made to battle hard in the second but showed her fighting qualities at a noisy Palacio de Deportes in Malaga.
The victory gave Katie Boulter the chance to clinch a spot in the last four against Leylah Fernandez, while victory for the Canadian number one would set up a deciding doubles.
Emma Raducanu secures a dream start for @the_LTA 🇬🇧
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 17, 2024
She beats Rebecca Marino 6-0 7-5 to go up 1-0 in the tie 👏#BJKCup | @EmmaRaducanu pic.twitter.com/1IVa71c6sX
Raducanu said: “It was an incredibly difficult match because the dynamics were so different.
“In the second set Rebecca really upped her level, she started swinging on every single ball. I’m very pleased with how I managed to fend off the break points and sneak that break at 5-5 then close it out.”
As in her opening match against Germany’s Jule Niemeier, this was a contest where Raducanu was favourite on paper, with Marino ranked down at 103.
The Canadian arrived in Malaga in form after winning a second-tier title earlier this month but she was caught completely cold by Raducanu.
😍 @EmmaRaducanu WINS to put us 1-0 up vs Canada!!!#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #BJKCup pic.twitter.com/lZLrSkuOxU
— LTA (@the_LTA) November 17, 2024
Britain had the advantage of having already played a tie, with Canada given a bye through to the quarter-finals, and that was very apparent as Raducanu came out swinging freely.
From the moment she broke serve in the opening game, Marino was chasing shadows, with the Raducanu return, arrowed unerringly back at the feet of her opponent, particularly impressive.
But Marino, who quit the sport for mental health reasons in 2013 before returning five years later, began to settle into the match at the beginning of the second set, striking her serve and groundstrokes with much more authority.
Raducanu has been remodelling her serve this year, and it remains a work in progress, but she overcame her first tricky moments at 1-2, saving three break points.
And the British number two hung tough again at 3-4, this time withstanding four chances for Marino, whose disappointment was clear.
Having saved seven break points in the set, Raducanu needed just one to secure the crucial advantage, another devastating return drawing a desperate flail from Marino.
Raducanu had struggled to close out her victory over Niemeier, and she needed three match points here, but a final forehand wide from Marino sealed the deal.
