Emma Raducanu had to win a marathon contest (Image: Getty)
Emma Raducanu recovered from an early injury concern to overcome Oleksandra Oliynykova and reach her first final since her US Open miracle. Raducanu, 23, outlasted the Ukrainian in the semi-final of the Transylvania Open 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and faces either third seed Sorana Cirstea or Daria Snigur in tomorrow’s final.
She was competing in only her fourth semi-final clash since her astonishing US Open triumph in 2021. After her disappointing showing at the Australian Open, which saw her exit in the second round after a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 defeat to Anastasia Potapova, the British No. 1 had been playing well in Romania. It was also her first tournament since parting with Francisco Roig, six months after he became the 10th coach to work with her. In Transylvania, Raducanu has allowed her tennis to do the talking, beating Belgium’s Greet Minnen, Slovakia’s Kaja Juven and Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, all without dropping a single set.
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In Oliynykova, Raducanu was confronted with a strong opponent, who also carried an air of mysteriousness with her facial tattoes of bats; a nod to the vampiric myths of Transylvania. The Ukrainian put Raducanu under pressure quickly, comfortably holding serve and then forcing several deuces in the Brit’s opening service game.
The opening set was a tense affair with neither player creating a break point opportunity until the ninth game. When Raducanu did, she took her opportunity by forcing Oliynkova into a mistake.
Before the Brit knew it, she was defending two break points, saving the first one with an excellent lob and saving the second by outlasting her opponent in a stunning, baseline rally. Raducanu saved a third and a fourth break point, but after failing to take two set points of her own, the Ukrainian broke serve to make the score 5-5.
Oliynykova’s display was solid, but she let a vital service game at 5-5 slip through her fingers, allowing Raducanu to rally back to deuce and break, to serve for the set. Before she stepped up to take set one, Raducanu called out the trainer, who did a series of movements and stretches on her right shoulder during a medical timeout.
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Oleksandra Oliynykova troubled Raducanu with her consistency (Image: Getty)
But instead of retiring, the 23-year-old served out the set perfectly without dropping a point. In set one, Oliynykova’s constant moon-balling and stubborn playing style troubled Raducanu, but the Brit played more aggressively and broke serve in game one of set two to take control of the semi-final.
The Brit followed up by dropping serve after a lengthy deuce, but responded by breaking the Ukrainian again and holding serve to take control of set two. However, this control was allowed to slip as Oliynykova fought back by breaking serve to bring the score back to 3-3.
Frustration got the better of Raducanu, causing her to drop the next two games and hand Oliynykova the initiative. Raducanu quickly created two break point opportunities, but Oliynykova maintained her composure to defend both and serve out the set by winning her fifth game in a row.
Raducanu began the crucial set nervously and her opponent took advantage by breaking serve in the third game. Raducanu had two break point opportunities again, but at the fourth attempt in the set, she broke the Ukrainian and then won her service game to love to go 5-2 up.
Raducanu had to dig deep to overcome the Ukrainian (Image: Getty)
Oliynykova saved three match points and managed to hold serve to force Raducanu into serving for the match. The Brit struggled and Oliynykova took advantage by creating two break points, but Raducany defended them and eventually secured her place in the final to end the three-hour plus contest.
After her tough victory, an exhausted Raducanu said: “I mean what an incredible match. I think all props to my opponent today. She played incredible. She makes it so tricky to put the ball past her.
“You think it’s past her and the ball is on your baseline or on your sideline, it was so difficult. I’m most proud of how I competed, how I came back in the third set and how I managed the match. I honestly don’t know if I could have done that without everybody’s support today so thank you so much.”