'Aggressive' Raducanu fights back while Draper toils through

At the end of a tense, high-quality opening set yesterday in Rome, Emma Raducanu had plenty of reason to despair.

- Tumaini Carayol

Despite how she had elevated her level to wrestle control of the contest, offering herself an opportunity to serve for the set, it ended in misery. She returned to her seat one set away from defeat.

Instead of allowing frustration to consume her, Raducanu maintained her composure and plotted her path to victory with an impressive exhibition of her problem-solving abilities. She recovered to defeat Veronika Kudermetova 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 and reach the fourth round of the Italian Open.

Jack Draper, the British No 1 and men's fifth seed, also continued his spectacular breakthrough run on red clay as he reached the last 16 with a tense 6-4, 6-3 win against the Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva.

As Raducanu continues to gain greater experience on clay, this week marks the first time in her career that she has won three consecutive matches on the surface. She will next face Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, in a highly anticipated encounter this afternoon. Draper, meanwhile, will meet Corentin Moutet in the fourth round tomorrow after the Frenchman pulled off a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4) win against Holger Rune, the ninth seed.