British starlet Emma Raducanu says that she is “proud” of her performance after producing a gutsy, comeback display on her French Open debut. 

The British number one produced a fine comeback in adverse weather conditions as she rallied from a set down to beat fellow teen and junior French Open champion Linda Noskova 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Paris Slam.

Raducanu was also twice down a break of serve in the second set but immediately broke back on both occasions before clinching a third break to level the match.

She eventually closed the tie after two hours and 40 minutes on court, breaking her younger opponent twice in the deciding set to earn a memorable debut win.

Raducanu, seeded 12th, sealed a memorable victory on her first match point with a forehand winner that wrong-footed 17-year-old Noskova.

The US Open champion will next face Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, who beat China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-1 to set up the second round clash. 

Reflecting on her debut, Emma Raducanu said that she felt “proud” of her performance and that physically she was able to adapt and cope with the changing conditions.

“It was an absolute battle. I’m proud of the way I fought.

“Linda really came out there firing and as soon as I dropped my ball speed she was all over me.

“It was really challenging in the second set – I’m really proud of how I fought but all props to Linda.

“I was quite surprised we stayed on. It was quite slippery at the baseline and I just wanted to be extra cautious. I didn’t want to take any risks.

“I am pretty pleased with how I was out there physically and I feel really good.

“It was difficult because the balls and court were so heavy, so it wasn’t doing much.

“Then in the second and third sets the conditions sped up a little bit, it was less windy and less rain, so it was about adapting.”

🎾 Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB