Wang Xinyu beats Emma Raducanu at Linz Open for first top 20 win
- ‘I thought that Xinyu played extremely well, especially the first set,’ says US Open champion as season ends in Austria
- China’s world No 106 moves on to former top 20 player Alison Riske in singles quarter-finals
China’s Wang Xinyu ended US Open champion Emma Raducanu’s season with an epic victory at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open in Austria, her first top 20 win coming in the same week that she reached a career-high ranking.
“I really felt the passion here,” Wang said on court at the TipsArena Linz after her thrilling win. “It’s also my first time here, I really enjoy playing this tournament.”
It started off easily for the Chinese No 4 as Wang won the first set 6-1 against the top-seeded world No 20 but the British No 1 Raducanu took the second set 7-6 on a tiebreak, which she blitzed 7-0.
The decisive third set was almost as tight as the second, with 20-year-old Wang edging it 7-5 from the 18-year-old, who turns 19 later this week. Victory took more than two and a half hours.
Wang wasted two match points when serving at 5-4 in the third set but tried to put them out of her mind, she said.
“I always try to believe in myself and always try to focus on this point, right now, and just enjoying the match,” Wang said after the match.
