Raducanu bounces back to punch ticket for Stuttgart quarterfinals

STUTTGART, Germany: US Open champion Emma Raducanu had to fight back in her second round tie on Thursday to set up a quarterfinal match against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the WTA Stuttgart tournament.

Raducanu, 19, whitewashed German lucky loser Tamara Korpatsch, who has a world ranking of 118th, in the first set, but was broken twice in the second before regaining her composure to seal a 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 win.

The 12th-ranked British teenager punched the air after converting her second match point.

In Friday's quarterfinal she can expect another tough battle against 2020 French Open champion Swiatek, who is on a 20-match winning streak on the WTA tour.

"She's in good form, it'll be an interesting match," Raducanu said of Swiatek.

"She's the world No. 1, so I don't feel any pressure and am looking forward to it."

On the other side of the draw, Spain's Paula Badosa will play Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, who is through to her fifth clay quarterfinal on the tour.

Earlier, Liudmila Samsonova showed plenty of grit to beat former Stuttgart champion Karolina Pliskova.

From 4-3 down in the first set, Samsonova won five straight games and never looked back to seal a 6-4, 6-4 win.

In her quarterfinal, she will play against Germany's Laura Siegemund, who is competing in Stuttgart on a wild card after knee surgery.