Emma Raducanu wins on clay court debut to keep Britain alive in Billie Jean King Cup

Emma Raducanu won the first clay court match of her career to give the British Billie Jean King Cup squad a crucial point in their qualifier tie against the Czech Republic. The world No 12 came through a tight match against Tereza Martincova 7-5 7-5 in an two hours and four minutes to get her team level at 1-1 in the tie following compatriot Harriet Dart's 6-1 6-0 loss to Marketa Vondrousova earlier in the day. It was both the 19-year-old's Billie Jean King Cup debut and her first-ever professional match on a clay court.

Raducanu opened her first-ever professional set of tennis on a clay court with a break, taking a 2-0 lead over her Czech opponent before she was broken straight back. It was a neck-and-neck opener between the world Nos 12 and 50 before Martincova managed to pounce and break to lead 5-4, giving herself the chance to serve for the first set with the Czech Republic already leading by one point in the qualifier tie.

But the 19-year-old didn't back down in the face of adversity in her clay debut, saving a set point at 30-40 to reel off three straight points and break back for 5-5. It was the first in a run of three consecutive games for Raducanu, who managed to win her first set of tennis on the surface 7-5 in 58 minutes, putting herself within one set of a crucial point for the British squad.

It was Martincova who started the second set on a run of form as the wind started to pick up slightly, quickly going up a double break at 3-0. It was the first in a string of four consecutive breaks, as a double fault from the world No 50 gifted one break back to Raducanu before she regained her double-break lead until the US Open champion broke once more for 2-4.

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