Emma Raducanu got her Korea Open campaign off to a winning start with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7-5) victory over American Peyton Stearns on Tuesday.
Britain’s Raducanu is looking to make an impact in Seoul after a string of last-minute withdrawals, including world No 1 Iga Swiatek, US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu, ranked 70th in the world, had to dig deep to beat her 48th-ranked opponent in steamy conditions in a match that lasted 2hr 43min.
“I’m proud to have made it through to the next round,” said the 21-year-old Raducanu, who is unseeded.
“Thank you to everyone for sticking around and watching us. It was tough, it was very humid, the balls were bouncing around a lot.”
Raducanu’s next opponent will be China’s Yue Yuan, the eighth seed.
“It was a tough match to get through,” added Raducanu.
“I haven’t played many matches in the last few months and Peyton is a really good player in really good form, so I’m pretty pleased.”
American Hailey Baptiste joined her in the second round after beating compatriot and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
Sixth seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan was knocked out after a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) loss to American Amanda Anisimova.
Play was delayed for 45 minutes at the start of the day for excessive heat.