Emma Raducanu earned a 6-2 6-3 win against qualifier Rebeka Masarova in the first round at Indian Wells.
The 21-year-old Briton broke the Spaniard’s serve twice to go 3-0 up, but a third double fault from Raducanu allowed Masarova to pull a game back.
Raducanu went 0-40 down when 5-2 in front but recovered to serve out for the first set in 43 minutes.
She struggled on her serve at times but won the second set to book a meeting with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
Raducanu served eight double faults and had a first serve percentage of 51.9%, but the 21-year-old was helped by some impressive ground strokes and a number of errors from Masarova, who is 96 in the world.
“It was super important for me to get through that,” said Raducanu, whose ranking has dropped to 250 an eight-month absence from the tour through injury.
“It’s one of the trickiest tournaments conditions-wise to play in because it varies so much.
“I dealt with that really well and overcame a really tough opponent.”
Raducanu, who reached the fourth round at Indian Wells last year, needed four match points to beat Masarova and set up the second-round tie against Yastremska, who is ranked 31st in the world.
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