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Emma Raducanu will reclaim the British No 1 ranking after winning her first meeting with four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka in confident fashion. The clash was hotly anticipated but proved to be not that much of a contest, with Raducanu comfortably clinching a 6-4, 6-2 victory to reach the quarter-finals of the Citi Open in Washington.
“I thought it was going to be a really difficult match. Naomi’s won four slams, she’s been world No 1, won Masters [titles],” said Raducanu on Sky Sports.
“She’s so dangerous and on the hard courts I think she’s particularly comfortable. I knew I was going to have to play really well and manage my own service games, which I’m really proud of how I did.
“I was making some inroads in her service games after I got used to it a little bit. I’m really pleased with how I handled the ball speed and the conditions here in DC.”
The result means the 22-year-old will once again overtake Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter to become the top-ranked British player as she looks to secure a seeding for next month’s US Open. Raducanu ended Boulter’s two-year run at the top of the domestic standings in June but she then slipped back to 46 in the world after losing a close tussle with Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon.
Her two victories here, though, could mean Raducanu returns to the top 40, and she will definitely pass Boulter following her opening-round defeat by Maria Sakkari. It will be the Greek that Raducanu plays next, and the Briton has not dropped a set against her in their three previous meetings.
Raducanu was sharp from the start against Osaka, who continues to search for a way back to the top of the game after giving birth to daughter Shai two years ago. A double fault from the Japanese gave Raducanu the first break in the fifth game and the British player was rock solid on serve as she wrapped up the opening set. Raducanu is without a coach in Washington amid uncertainty over the future of her partnership with Mark Petchey and has only hitting partner Alexis Canter in her corner, but there was no lack of direction in this performance.
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She was helped to another break at the start of the second set by more errors from Osaka, who created a first chance on the Raducanu serve at 1-2 but could not take it. Raducanu’s serve has improved markedly under Petchey and was her key weapon here as she moved through to a third quarter-final in Washington with strong hopes of going further.
Cameron Norrie could not match Raducanu, though, the British No 2 beaten 7-6 (3), 6-3 by American 14th seed Brandon Nakashima. Dan Evans’ hopes of another deep run in Washington two years after he won the title are also over after he lost 6-2, 7-6 (4) to France’s Corentin Moutet.
