Raducanu sweeps Ishii aside to book Navarro clash

Emma Raducanu began her time on the east coast of the US on a positive note as she produced a calm, consistent performance to reach the second round of the Miami Open for the first time with a 6-2, 6-1 win over the Japanese wildcard Sayaka Ishii.

- Tumaini Carayol

Her victory sets up a second-round match against Emma Navarro, the eighth seed.

"I was just so focused on every point and trying to compete," said Raducanu. "That was my main objective today, just trying my best every point and bringing some energy, bringing some competitiveness. I think that's maybe been missing in the past couple of months. I'm really proud of that. It's just nice to win in two sets and less than two and a half hours."

This was a kind opening-round draw for Raducanu. While Ishii has shown promise in her young career, reaching No 5 in the junior rankings two years ago, she is still quite far from competing regularly at the highest level. This was only her fifth match against a top-100 opponent, with only one victory. Ishii trains at the IMG Academy and received a wildcard in Miami since IMG owns the tournament.