Emma Raducanu starts Canadian Open campaign with win over 'very good friend' Elena-Gabriela Ruse

After saving five break points in the third game of the match, Raducanu broke Ruse twice to take the opening set convincingly.

In the second set, Raducanu was twice pegged back after being up a break, but she secured the third and decisive breakthrough on Ruse's serve at 4-4 before serving it out.

She now holds a 2-0 record against the 27-year-old Romanian. Raducanu has won four of her last five matches after her run to the semi-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Washington DC last week.

In her on-court interview, Raducanu said: "I'm so happy to have come through that. I know Elena, she's a very good friend of mine.

"It's very difficult to play someone you are close to, so I am really proud of how I put that to one side for the match and also backed up a strong week in DC and performed well today.

"Yeah, just really happy and loved playing here for the first time. It is extremely difficult [playing someone you know so well], we have spent a lot of time together off court, practices, and she is a great girl, so it is not nice when you have to see her name in the draw, but I am really pleased with how I performed myself."

Raducanu's run to the last four in Washington lifted her from 46th to 33rd in the world when the WTA Rankings updated on Monday.

However, she then fell nine places to 42nd in the live rankings when the points from her quarter-final result at the 2024 Citi Open dropped as last year's event was held a week later in the calendar.

The 22-year-old's first round win in Montreal has lifted her back up three spots to 39th, and she has the opportunity to climb further.

Raducanu will face 37th-ranked Peyton Stearns in the second round, and victory would take the Brit above both Olga Danilovic and Stearns to 37th in the live rankings.

The former world No 10 did not compete at either the Canadian Open or the Cincinnati Open in 2024, which gives her a good chance to improve her ranking before the US Open.

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