- Emma Raducanu beat Jill Teichmann 6-2, 6-2 in second round of Italian Open
- Raducanu gave an almost flawless display of controlled aggression to prevail
After a first-round battle in the gloomy chill of evening came an afternoon stroll in the sunshine for Emma Raducanu.
The 22-year-old gave an almost flawless display of controlled aggression to take out Switzerland’s Jill Teichmann 6-2, 6-2 and reach the third round of the Italian Open in Rome.
The serve was potent and the forehand was lethal; with each passing match Raducanu is looked more like a bona fide clay court player.
She also looked to be in better health than during a near-three hour battle against Aussie Maya Joint on Wednesday evening, when she coughed and sneezed her way through in three sets. That match started at 8pm; her second round at the more civilised hour of 4pm.
Raducanu had been due to face world No20 Ekaterina Alexandrova but the Russian withdrew just three hours before the match.
That gave another life to world No94 Teichmann, who had lost in the final round of qualifying earlier this week and was parachuted into the draw.
Emma Raducanu made it through to the Italian Open third round by beating Jill Teichmann
Raducanu produced an almost flawless display of controlled aggression as she won 6-2, 6-2
World No 94 Teichmann stepped up to face Raducanu after Ekaterina Alexandrova withdrew
These late switches of opponent are always awkward and here the change was especially profound: a left-hander rather than right; a tricky all-court player instead of the all-out attack of Alexandrova.
It was also an opponent Raducanu had never faced, rather than a woman she has played twice already this year.
Against the Russian, Raducanu could have played a more counter-punching style; against the Swiss understudy, the emphasis was on her to make things happen.
That fitted in with the general approach Raducanu is taking to this clay-court season. She has looked at herself and those at the top of the game and decided the difference is aggression.
This mindset was evident in her tight first-round win against Maya Joint but the power gauge was cranked up a couple more notches against Teichmann, helped by the hotter afternoon conditions.
She never for an instant looked like losing this one. Coach Mark Petchey – back in the stands after his Tennis Channel commentary duties clashed with the Joint match – will have been well pleased with what he saw.
Raducanu will move up at least four spots in the rankings to world No45 after her run here. Reaching the quarter-finals would be enough to overhaul Katie Boulter as British No1.
Earlier in the day, Sonay Kartal took a 3-0 lead against Linda Noskova but struggled thereafter to handle the power of the No30 seed. The Czech came through 6-4, 6-2.
