Raducanu was rarely troubled by the former world number one and wrapped up a 6-1 6-2 win in one hour 26 minutes. It was the 21-year-old’s third win in a week after she won both her matches to help Britain beat France in the Billie Jean King Cup at the weekend.
Raducanu will play Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic in next round. “It was very difficult to play Angie because she has so much history behind her,” said Raducanu. “You are not just playing Angelique Kerber, you are playing the person who has achieved all those amazing results. “It wasn’t the prettiest but I just focused on the next point and did not get too bogged down. So I’m happy to have got through that.”
Both players entered the tournament as wildcards, with Raducanu dropping to 303 in the world after having surgery on both wrists last year. Three-time major winner Kerber meanwhile only returned to the tour in December after 18 months out following the birth of her first child.
Raducanu broke serve three times in a dominant first set, taking it 6-2 in just 41 minutes, before breaking in the first game of the second. Kerber, 36, was able to break back immediately but then began to tire and an increasingly confident Raducanu was able to reel off four consecutive games to seal victory.
Gauff overcomes errors to progress
Earlier on Wednesday, American world number three Coco Gauff overcame an error-strewn display to beat fellow American Sachia Vickery 6-3 4-6 7-5. The US Open champion, playing her first tournament since the Miami Open in March, made 49 unforced errors, including 14 double faults.
She looked on the brink of defeat when trailing 4-2 in the deciding set, but won five of the next six games to seal victory in two hours 26 minutes. Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur snapped a five-match losing win by beating Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-1). Tunisia’s Jabeur, ranked in ninth in the world, has struggled with physical issues this season and had not won since beating Raducanu in Abu Dhabi on 7 February.
Meanwhile, former world number one Naomi Osaka lost 6-4 6-2 to Italy’s Martina Trevisan on her clay-court comeback at the WTA 250 event in Rouen. The 26-year-old Japanese player, whose four major titles have come on hard courts, had not played on clay since a first-round defeat at the 2022 French Open. Osaka has won eight of her 15 matches this year after returning from maternity leave.
