Emma Raducanu feels energised by fans after fighting back to beat Kaja Juvan
The number one seed is in Romania playing her first tournament since splitting from coach Francis Roig.
Emma Raducanu recovered from 5-0 down in the first set to beat Kaja Juvan 7-5 6-1 and progress to the quarter-finals of the Transylvania Open.
The number one seed, who is playing her first tournament since splitting from coach Francis Roig in the wake of her early exit from the Australian Open, won a remarkable 10 straight games and 13 of the final 14 to avoid an embarrassing upset.
Her Slovenian opponent stormed into a commanding lead with Raducanu seemingly surprised by the level of the world number 97 and appearing to be suffering some discomfort in her leg.
She hit back to level the set before holding serve then breaking Juvan to edge it.
Thereafter it was a more straightforward affair as she coasted to a straight-sets victory to set up a last-eight meeting with qualifier Maja Chwalinska.
Afterwards she said to the crowd in the Romanian city of Cluj: “Thank you for the support, it really got me through some tricky moments in that first set.
“I have to say Kaja was playing some great tennis, was putting me on the back foot straightaway. I thought I was being aggressive, going for my shots, but I was missing and not executing.
“At least I can say I was trying to play on my terms. That was the goal for me. I don’t think I’ve ever come back from 5-0 down before so that’s a first to add to the experience.
“Thank you for staying and waiting so long, I appreciate it, it means a lot. Now I’ve got to try and recover straightaway.
“It’s not much time but hopefully the schedule is kind to me and I can find some energy and hopefully I’ll see you guys out there and you’ll give me some energy.”
