'I still don't really feel comfortable': Emma Raducanu Admits Clay Struggle Despite Dominant Show in Italian Open Round 2

Emma Raducanu advances to the Italian Open's third round with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Jil Teichmann. Raducanu was initially scheduled to face Ekaterina Alexandrova, but the 21st seed bowed out owing to a right shoulder injury. She was replaced by Switzerland's Teichman, who lost in the last round of qualification to Hailey Baptiste.

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Emma Raducanu On Her Performance

Following the culmination of the match, the Brit expressed her views on the last-minute shake-up and how she quickly coped with the playing style of play of Jil to come out as the winner.

"To be honest it was pretty mental, as I was warming up for my match against Alexandrova and, all of a sudden, I get told I'm playing Jil," Raducanu told Sky Sports Tennis.

"On top of that she's a left, so a completely different challenge. Honestly, I haven't practised with a lefty and haven't played one since February.

"I'm really proud of myself for how I fought through. This is her favourite surface."

"The first few games I was adjusting to the way the ball curls, but I'm really proud of myself. I fought through and I'm really proud of how I came through that."

Emma Raducanu delivered a strong performance, dominating the match with her power and tempo to defeat the Swiss opponent, who struggled to keep up.

Discussing how she has changed her service action, Raducanu said: "If you look at my serve now compared to Australia, compared to the Middle East, even Miami, I changed it after Miami with some tweaks and it's a completely different motion. I'm trying to make it a bit more fluid, a bit longer, so it's hopefully more robust under pressure, but it's by no means a finished product.

"I feel there's so much more room to grow it. I think this way I can maximise the potential."

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Getting Hold of Clay

Raducanu also weighed in on her performance on Clay and admitted that she is slowly becoming comfortable at the turf.

"I still don't really feel comfortable on clay but in a way it helps me because I have to be super focused on every single point, just getting my feet right and to try and not fall over, so it is a big challenge," she said.

"The points are long, the balls do get heavier, and when I was serving it out, it was getting slower and slower, so it is physical but I'm slowly finding my feet."

It was Raducanu's 3rd match on Clay this season. Surprisingly, she has only played 20 times on Clay.