Emma Raducanu has said her first-round victory over Polona Hercog at the Transylvania Open had extra significance because it took place in “my dad’s country”.
Raducanu, whose father is Romanian, fought from a set down to beat her Slovenian opponent 4-6 7-5 6-1 on Tuesday.
It marked the 18-year-old’s first victory since her US Open triumph in September, and sets up a showdown between the British No1 and Ana Bogdan – herself a Romanian.
“This means a lot to play in my dad’s country,” Raducanu said after beating Hercog, per the BBC. “It feels like a huge win.
“It is a shame there aren’t fans here, but I hope they were watching and I just wanted to do them proud.
“I was on a losing streak, so I am really pleased to have come through that. It’s my first win [since the US Open], I knew that in my head, so I was battling really hard to get on the board.
“I am really proud of how I fought. That is a big learning thing for me. The key was to try to stay mentally composed. I knew I wasn’t playing very well, so I just needed to keep going one point at a time and giving myself a chance by holding serve.”
Raducanu takes on Bogdan on Thursday, with a place in the quarter-finals of the Transylvania Open on the line.
