Emma Raducanu hits the heights in straight-sets win over Marta Kostyuk

The positive momentum established by Emma Raducanu in recent weeks now appears to be growing steadily. In the second showdown of a budding generational rivalry, Raducanu produced her very best performance since the US Open by eviscerating her fellow 19-year-old Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1 to reach the third round of the Madrid Open.

The victory marks just the second time that Raducanu has won consecutive matches this season, which she has achieved in successive tournaments in her first professional forays on clay. “I’m definitely very happy with my performance today,” she said.

“Marta’s a great opponent, we’ve played several times in the juniors and once last year. I knew it was always going to be a really tough battle so I went out there trying to be really aggressive and it definitely paid off.”

Unlike in her gritty opening win, Raducanu opened her second match at ease. Her ballstriking was pristine as she punished Kostyuk’s serve, took the ball early, effortlessly changed direction and commanded the baseline with her brand of controlled aggression.

Raducanu broke serve in the opening game of the match and as the contest endured she continued to effectively adapt details of her game on the clay, throwing in loopy balls and acute angles while also peppering Kostyuk with increasingly confident drop shots.

While Raducanu has frequently struggled to maintain her energy and level for consecutive sets earlier this season, she imposed constant pressure on Kostyuk throughout, who flailed and took greater risks in search of a turning point. As Kostyuk’s errors consequently flowed, Raducanu completed a brilliant victory.

Just a few years ago, Kostyuk was by far the best player of their age group as juniors and Raducanu was not even