Emma Raducanu roars back against Caroline Garcia to level BJK Cup tie

Returning to the top level of professional tennis after a lengthy injury layoff and trying to rediscover confidence and rhythm is difficult under the best circumstances. For Emma Raducanu, whose career to date has been utterly devoid of rhythm and order, it has been an even greater challenge.

Under the pressure of representing her country and herself, though, Raducanu took a huge step forward in both her return and her development as she produced her best performance over the year to defeat Caroline Garcia, the world No 23, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

With her first top 30 win on clay, Raducanu has levelled the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tie between Great Britain and France at 1-1. After Katie Boulter was dominated 6-2, 6-0 by Diane Parry, France’s No 2, in the opening rubber, Raducanu had initially trailed Garcia by a set and break.

“Of course we go into tomorrow equal and we’re not 2-0 down, which is very difficult to fight back from,” said Raducanu. “For me, being a point down and playing against Caroline at home, I was the complete underdog. When I was a set and a break down, I just started swinging. I was like: ‘OK, we’re already losing so might as well go all out.’ Go big or go home. We’re not going home just yet and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

The small French commune of Le Portel is situated on the northern coast of France by the English channel, only 90 miles from London. For many members of the Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup team, they live closer than their French counterparts.

But while the venue may not be far from home, the opening match underlined how alien the terrain is to many players as Boulter led 2-0 before losing 12 games in a row as she was crushed by Parry.

While Raducanu has more clay court experience than Boulter, she stepped up against Garcia, fully conscious of the extremely tough task before her. The opening set featured high quality from both despite numerous service breaks, with Garcia playing her typically uncompromising brand of attacking tennis, serving big while looking to take on her forehand and move forward at all costs.

Despite how Raducanu held her own in the many high-octane rallies, Garcia’s greater weaponry and her free points on serve marked the difference between them as the home hope rolled through four games in a row to establish a 6-3, 2-0 lead and seemed to be moving towards victory.

Instead, Raducanu dug deep and spectacularly turned the match around. Against one of the best servers on the tour she returned brilliantly, putting Garcia under constant pressure with her consistent depth and determination to take the ball early. She matched the French player’s heavy ball-striking by deflecting her pace, refusing to move from the baseline. Her serve has so often been a weakness in the biggest moments, but she found first serves and free points in numerous difficult moments.

“I actually wasn’t doing too much wrong even though I was a set and break down, it just came down to a few break points on either side,” said Raducanu. “I think I took a more aggressive position from the second set onwards and I got rewarded for taking more risks. I love playing in front of the crowd even though it’s the French’s house.”

By the final set Raducanu was playing with a level of freedom she has rarely been able to find since her triumph at the 2021 US Open. She treated the Garcia serve with total disdain, lasering return winners off both wings and rolling through her own service games. As she neared victory, Raducanu was so focused that she completely misread the score, prematurely celebrating victory after holding serve for 5-1. No matter, five minutes later she stepped up again to close out a brilliant win.