EMMA RADUCANU put her Billie Jean King Cup blister woes aside to sweep into the Stuttgart second round – and she is loving getting to play on clay.
The world No12 is seeded eighth at the German tournament sponsored by her latest partners Porsche.
And in her first WTA Tour match on the dirt, the US Open champ crushed Australian qualifier Storm Sanders 6-1 6-2.
That is her best result since her fairytale New York run back in September.
Raducanu showed no discomfort after suffering from a blister on her foot when playing for Great Britain in Prague last weekend.
The 19-year-old Bromley ace took a little while to find her rhythm as she was taken to deuce on her first two service games.
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Sanders also won her first service game to love, but it was one-way traffic from that point as Raducanu’s power from the baseline took control.
Raducanu dominated some excellent rallies and wrapped up the first set in 30 minutes.
It was a similar story in the second after Raducanu’s speed across the court allowed her to reach a Sanders drop shot and execute on her third break point.
The Aussie stopped Raducanu winning an eighth game in a row by beefing up her serve.
But Raducanu, a whopping 185 places above Sanders in the rankings, was in no mood to let her opponent off the hook.
She broke again for a 4-1 lead and her strong serve ensured that recent difficulties of closing out matches would not be an issue this time.
Raducanu said: “It’s been a good start for me to the clay season, today being my first WTA match on clay.
“The duration of the points on clay is something I need to work on.
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“That will improve my craftiness and variety of shots as well. I’m looking forward to spending more time on this surface.
“This time last week I was practicing in Prague and I genuinely didn’t know how to move on clay.
“The fitness trainer was teaching me how to slide using a medicine ball.
“So I’m really pleased with how I’ve improved in a week.”
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Raducanu, who wore a Tottenham shirt during her pre-tournament practice, will play Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch in the round of 16.
She added: “I don’t know anything about my next opponent right now. I’m looking to playing a German on her home turf.”
