Emma Raducanu savours key win to keep Great Britain in Billie Jean King Cup tie

Emma Raducanu savoured a landmark win as she drew Great Britain level with the Czech Republic at the end of the first day of their Billie Jean King Cup tie in Prague.

The US Open champion’s clash with 50th-ranked Tereza Martincova was not just her senior competitive debut for Britain but also her first professional match on clay – another example of the remarkable career trajectory the 19-year-old has been on.

The pressure was on Raducanu after Harriet Dart’s 55-minute 6-1 6-0 thrashing by Marketa Vondrousova and she rose to the challenge impressively, claiming a 7-5 7-5 victory.

It was just Raducanu’s third victory of the season – with Martincova the highest-ranked player she has beaten since New York – and was particularly satisfying after a series of matches in which she has failed to build on strong starts.

“This win definitely meant a lot to me because this year I’ve won a lot of first sets, I’ve been leading matches, and to actually close it out in two sets gave me a lot of confidence,” said the 19-year-old.

“And just for the team, we’re still in this, we’re fighting, it’s all to play for tomorrow. And it being my first match on clay for four years, it’s pretty insane. I don’t know how it’s been that long.”

Raducanu last played on the surface back in 2018 in French Open juniors but this performance was notable for the way she learned as she went along, saving a set point at 4-5 in the opener and then fighting back from 1-4 in the second.

“What pleased me the most was the adapting I had to do because the conditions changed a lot, it was sunny and then cold and then a lot of wind picked up,” she said.

“Also on clay there are many bad bounces so I was struggling a lot with that and had to find a way to adapt. And I’m