Tennis Raducanu battles back in Rome to set up last-16 meeting with Gauff

EMMA Raducanu set up an Italian Open last-16 meeting with Coco Gauff as she came from behind to beat Veronika Kudermetova in Rome yesterday.

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After losing the first set despite serving at 5-4 up, Raducanu bounced back in emphatic fashion, seeing off her Russian opponent 5-7 6-0 6-1 in a contest lasting just over two-and-a-half hours.

The 22-year-old Briton told Sky Sports: "For me the best thing about today I think was recovering after losing the first set and having serve for it.

"I think I threw in a pretty poor game at 5-4 serving, but I felt under pressure on Veronika's returns, she was literally red-lining everything and it was all going in and I was like 'I don't know where to serve' and it's not a nice feeling to have.

"I'm so happy with how I didn't let the rest of the match get away with me. I think that's a big progress compared to maybe the matches I played in the past."