The British tennis star snapped a four-match losing run with a straight-sets win over Maria Sakkari in the opening round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sunday (16.02.25) and took pride in the resilience she showed in beating the former world number three after having to come from a break down in both sets.

Raducanu said post-match: "I just tried to stay really focussed on the point in front of me.

"I think there were some momentum shifts throughout the match and when I got broken twice early in the sets, I just regrouped really well and broke back both times.

"I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria; she's a top player, she's been as high as three in the world, so I'm just really proud of my performance."

The victory ensured that Raducanu maintained her 100 per cent winning record against Sakkari and she thinks that their similar playing styles helped her come out on top.

The former US Open champion said: "It's a difficult one; I think in a way, we play quite similar – she's really athletic.

"I'm not going to give all my tactics away, but it's just a very difficult match every time we play, so I'm happy to have won on these occasions in all big tournaments. So, just very happy to get through to this next round.

"The support has been great tonight. I really like the surface; it's my first time spending a bit of time here and I've really enjoyed it."