BRITISH Grand Slam winner Emma Raducanu produced some of her best tennis in a hard-fought win over talented young American Peyton Stearns in Korea overnight to reach the second round. In a nail-biting contest in hot conditions, Raducanu successfully pulled off the win in two tiebreak sets, winning 7-4 and 7-5 in the first and second set tiebreakers.

In a match that lasted two hours and 43 minutes – and where both players produced eight double faults, Raducanu was marginally better on serve with a 60 and 35 per cent success rate off a 66 per cent clip. She also saved nine of 15 break points, while converting six of her own of 13 chances.

The excessive heat delayed the contest 45 minutes before it got underway and Raducanu raced out to a 4-1 lead in the first set. However despite being one point away from making it 5-1, Stearns broke back, and then survived a couple of set points in the 12th service game of the first set.

Neither player could seemingly build momentum through the second set as Raducanu saved break point chances in the seventh game of the second set and next game broke herself to hold a 5-3 lead. But once again Stearns found a way to get back into the contet, immediately breaking back and then eventually forcing a tiebreaker.

Luckily for the US Open winner, Raducanu was able to hold firm and close out the match in another tiebreaker with the set lasting 89 minutes. The victory set up a Round of 16 clash with last year’s runner-up Yue Yuan, currently ranked 40th in the world.

“I’m proud to have made it through to the next round,” Raducanu said post-match. “It was tough. “It was very humid, the ball was bouncing around a lot.

“It was a tough match to get through. I haven’t played many matches in the last few months and Peyton, she’s a really good player and on really good form. I’m really pleased.”

In other day two results, Australian Ajla Tomljanovic narrowly survived a scare against 231st ranked South Korean wildcard Su Jeong Jang, winning in three sets 7-6 4-6 6-3 in a match that lasted three hours and three minutes. The news was not as positive for the other Australian inaction with qualifier Priscilla Hon losing in straight sets to Polina Kudermetova, 7-5 6-4.

In the all-American battle, Hayley Baptiste got past compatriot Sloane Stephens 7-6 6-2, while Amanda Anisimova upset Yulia Putintseva, 6-3 7-6. Meanwhile Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova won a very odd momentum swinging match against German Tatjana Maria, 6-2 1-6 6-0 to reach the second round.