Emma Raducanu did extremely well in her Eastbourne debut on Tuesday to safely reach the round-of-16, while 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova also ended on the winning side in her first match in 10 months.
In a battle between two US Open champions, it was Raducanu who did much better, beating Sloane Stephens with just four lost games 6-4 6-0.
On paper, it might seem that Raducanu easily beat Stephens. But actually, the 2021 US Open champion was twice down by a break in the first set and could have easily lost the opener.
Meanwhile, Muchova – who was out of action since the US Open due to wrist surgery – was 3-1 up on Elina Avanesyian when the 21-year-old Russian retired the match due to a left thigh issue.
In the Eastbourne round-of-16, Raducanu plays against No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula while Muchova takes on Magda Linette.
What exactly happened in the Raducanu and Stephens match?
After not a single break point was seen through the opening four games, the next four games featured breaks of serve as Stephens was twice up by a break but Raducanu twice recovered to level the opener to four games apiece.
In the ninth game, Stephens had two consecutive break points to go up by a break for…
