Emma Raducanu didn't draw a difficult opening Madrid opponent on paper but she did draw one that is in form and has already collected five wins on clay.
The British tennis star, who skipped the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers and a WTA 250 tournament in Rouen, is set to start her clay season at the Madrid Open. There, she drew Netherland's Suzan Lamens.
While Raducanu was only practicing on clay, Lamens played two clay matches for the Netherlands in the BJK Cup qualifiers and ended victorious. Then, she also competed in Rouen, where she made the semifinal before losing to Olga Danilovic.
Since the Dutch has already played six matches on clay over the last two weeks, it is safe to say that she is well-prepared. And while Raducanu is still the favorite to win their Madrid first-round battle, she could definitely face some problems early on because it looks like a tricky matchup in the making. They have no previous meetings.
Raducanu urged to focus on the clay season
Last year, the 2021 US Open winner made only two appearances during the clay season and she also missed the French Open. At the start of this year's clay swing, she was urged by former British tennis star to put a bigger emphasis on this particular part of the year.
“I’m sure Emma would like to do well on clay and grass this year and play a full schedule. Clay is great for developing all areas of the game. Tactically, it’s a great surface to learn how to turn around matches when you are behind in slower conditions. Clay conditions change so much depending on the weather and where you are playing. Madrid is always so different to Rome and it might be that one set of conditions suits Emma better than the other," Robson said at a Sky Sports event.
When it comes to Madrid, Raducanu is set for her third appearance at the tournament. She lost in the round-of-16 three years ago while she exited the tournament in the first round last year.
