Emma Raducanu saw off Jule Niemeier 6-4 6-4 as Great Britain won their first clash against Germany at the Billie Jean King Cup finals on Friday.
The 22-year-old, playing her first match in two months after recovering from a foot injury, has put Britain 1-0 up before Katie Boulter faces Laura Siegemund.
Raducanu was comfortably the better player against her lower-ranked foe – particularly in the first set – but had to overcome a nervy finish to seal the victory.
‘I think I played some really good tennis today,’ Raducanu said after the match. ‘Playing Jule on an indoor hard court isn’t easy. It’s a game of holding serve and trying to get a break where you can.
‘I haven’t obviously played a match in a long time so these are small sharpness things that come the more matches I play. I’m very happy with how I regrouped and how I managed to close out that last game.’
Raducanu moved ahead in the seventh game of the first set with the opening break of the match, much to the delight of the British fans out in Malaga, who could be seen waving Union Flags and loudly cheering for the 22-year-old star.
She was heard letting out a roar after hitting a rocket return – and that firmly put the fire in Niemeier’s belly – with the German world No.92 forcing world No.58 Raducanu to save a whopping five break points in a hard-fought game eight.
Raducanu was able to fend off all five of them and her sole break was enough for her to see out the first set 6-4, having impressed with her serving, registering seven aces to her opponent’s zero, and making far less unforced errors too.
Niemeier needed to come out fighting at the start of the second set but it only got worse for the German as Raducanu secured an early break with an incredible return – squeezing the ball down the line – to take firm control of their showdown.
A momentum shift followed as Niemeier finally broke back to level up the second set but it didn’t last long as she fired into the net for Raducanu to register her third break of the match, moving 4-2 up.
There was a nervy finish for Raducanu, though, who put pressure on herself by wasting five match points before eventually getting the job done 6-4 6-4.
Quizzed about taking energy from the crowd during the match, Raducanu added: ‘We had a lot of support so thanks to everyone over here. Obviously it helps a lot having so much support. The team, each and every one of us, we are all playing our role. We wouldn’t be here without every member.
‘Very proud of myself and also very proud of every team member playing their role as best as possible and sacrificing certain things.
‘Everyone, especially Anne [Keothavong] leading us into the finals and we are starting at 1-0 up.’
Raducanu’s win over Niemeier means Britain have a 1-0 lead against Germany in the last 16 of the Billie Jean King Cup finals with two more matches to follow.
British No.1 Boulter takes on Siegemund in the second singles match before Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls are in doubles action against Anna-Lena Friedsam and Tatjana Maria in the third and final scheduled meeting.