Emma Raducanu ended her recent losing streak with a straight-sets victory over Maria Sakkari at the Dubai Duty Free Championships.
Raducanu had been struggling, having lost four consecutive matches—the longest losing streak of her career.
The player recently received a wildcard entry into the main draw of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
She started the match strong by breaking Sakkari’s serve early and eventually secured a 6-4, 6-2 win, finishing with her third ace, as reported by The Guardian.
After her victory, Raducanu expressed, “I just tried to stay really focused on the point in front of me.”
The 22-year-old further shared, “There were some momentum shifts throughout the match, and when I got broken twice early in the sets, I regrouped really well and managed to break back [immediately] both times.”
Raducanu added, “I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria. She’s a top player, having reached as high as No. 3 in the world. I’m just really proud of my performance.”
In February, Raducanu received wildcard entries to compete in the main draws of the Abu Dhabi Open and Qatar Open but was eliminated in the first round of both tournaments.
She continued, “In a way, we play quite similarly—she’s very athletic. I’m not necessarily going to give away all my tactics, but it’s always a tough match whenever we play. So, I’m happy to have won in all these big tournaments and thrilled to move on to the next round.”
With this win, Raducanu has now defeated Sakkari in all three of their encounters without dropping a set and will now face Karolina Muchova in the next round.
