Emma Raducanu off to impressive start at Indian Wells with confident win | Tennis

Emma Raducanu moved into the second round of Indian Wells with a clean performance and no significant problems, confidently closing out a 6-2, 6-3 win over the qualifier Rebeka Masarova. Raducanu will now face Dayana Yastremska, the 30th seed, for a place in the third round.

After suffering in the opening set of her loss to Anhelina Kalinina in Doha last month, this time Raducanu was sharp from the first point against Masarova, a big serving but inconsistent Spaniard. She returned well, finding good depth on her strokes and exposing Masarova’s movement with her early ball-striking and sharp angles, particularly with her backhand. In contrast to her ultra-aggressive approach in the Middle East, Raducanu played with greater patience, choosing when to step inside the baseline with power more carefully.

At 3-0, though, with two breaks, Raducanu dropped serve with three successive double faults. She worked through her struggles and eventually her greater consistency and mobility made a clear difference as she battled through a tough service game at 3-2 before easing through the set.

The second took a similar turn, with Raducanu establishing a 3-0 lead, only for her to lose focus and let the Spaniard back in. But with the first set under her belt and Masarova’s confidence waning, Raducanu was strong in the decisive moments and confidently sealed the victory.

This is a notable week for Raducanu as she looks to rise back up the rankings following her eight month layoff as she recovered from surgeries to her wrists and ankles in April. Last year, Raducanu defeated two top 20 seeds to reach the fourth round in Indian Wells, one of her best results since winning the US Open. She now has to defend those points or face a further drop in the rankings.

Raducanu, though, says she is currently not focused on her standing. Between the Middle East and California, she spent weeks training back home at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. Rather than piling up the matches, she believes she needs to prioritise her development as a player at this point in her career. She will have an opportunity to demonstrate her efforts in training against Yastremska, an Australian Open semi-finalist this year, on Saturday.

Simona Halep has announced she will make her return to professional tennis at the Miami Open in 10 days following the news her four year doping ban had been reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, allowing the former No 1 to return to competition immediately.

“I’m thrilled to let you all know that I will be making my return to the WTA Tour in two weeks at the Miami Open,” Halep wrote on social media. “Thank you to the tournament for giving me this opportunity and I cannot wait to be back on court and competing. See you all soon!”