Emma Raducanu says she is “cherishing the memories” of playing at the Billie Jean King Cup after winning her match against Tereza Martincova in straight sets. 

Raducanu is the highest-ranked player in the Great Britain team and has assumed the role of leader, with no Johanna Konta or Heather Watson in the squad. 

And playing in her first-ever professional match on clay, the Brit triumphed 7-5 7-5 to level the tie at 1-1, heading into tomorrow’s remaining three matches. 

All-square between Great Britain and the Czech Republic 

Raducanu’s win was crucial in the circumstances after Harriet Dart was thrashed 1-6 0-6 by Marketa Vondrousova. 

On Saturday, there are three more scheduled matches, including two singles ties and a doubles match. 

First up, Raducanu will be in action versus Vondrousova. Then, Dart will play Martincova. 

If the scores are still level after these two matches, Katie Swan and Sonay Kartal will play Marie Bouzkova and Linda Fruhvirtova. 

"We're still in this battle and it's all to play for tomorrow,” Raducanu said. 

"The team had my back 100% as we had Harriet's back this morning. It is amazing to be in a team event in an individual sport and I'm cherishing the matches this week.” 

Raducanu back to winning ways

The US Open champion has endured a tough start to 2022 so far and had won just two matches this season ahead of the Czech Republic tie.

But this victory will have given her a lot of confidence, especially given it was her first match on the clay surface since 2018, when she played in the juniors at Roland-Garros. 

"The 2018 French Open was four years ago, I can't believe it,” she said afterwards. “Playing on clay took some adjusting, even now. With the wind and some tricky bounces, to adjust and adapt in the situation was very challenging but I'm proud of how I dug in.”

At one stage, the teenager was two breaks down in the second set but rallied well and successfully upped her intensity. 

"In the beginning of the second set I went a bit flat and everyone in the team said the intensity had dropped. It is difficult to regain that but glad I did in the end,” she stressed. 

It seems the Brit has put the woes of the hard-court season to bed and is now fully focused on the clay court schedule to come.