During her Miami run, Raducanu spoke regularly about showing “resilience” to win matches and needed to demonstrate that quality again in her first clay-court match in a year.
Lamens, ranked 73rd in the world, is a combative player who has improved sharply over the past year and is more than comfortable on the surface.
Earlier this month, she beat British number one Katie Boulter in the Billie Jean King Cup tie that Raducanu missed to “rest” her body after a packed start to the season.
Raducanu was often unable to cope with Lamens’ baseline power in the opening set but recovered from a break down – and saved three more break points in the ninth game – to drag her opponent into a tie-break.
Another measure of Raducanu’s improved resilience has been her impressive recent record in these situations – and showed it again.
While she was also helped by Lamens’ errors, Raducanu maintained her composure to take her tie-break record to 6-1 this year.
Petchey was sat in her box alongside Raducanu’s long-time ally Jane O’Donoghue, regularly offering praise and encouragement at crucial junctures.
Raducanu played more aggressively in the second set but also had to dig deep as Lamens tried to pin her back behind the baseline.
There were flashes of brilliance from the Briton, too.
A running forehand down the line and another thunderous winner piled on the pressure as Lamens tried to hold serve in a lengthy seventh game, with double faults aiding Raducanu as she eventually broke.
However, it was not a straightforward path to victory. Raducanu shakily lost serve for 4-4 before a frustrated Lamens wobbled again and allowed the Briton to secure another confidence-boosting victory.
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