Emma Raducanu says her 'skin was ripping off' after overcoming sweltering conditions at Citi Open

The US Open champion kicked off her North American hard-court season with a two-and-a-half-hour battle against Louisa Chirico on Tuesday, and followed it up with another hard-fought clash against Osorio.

The 19-year-old dominated the baseline and got over the finishing line, winning the match 7-6 7-6. Raducanu needed a medical time-out for treatment on blisters on her racquet hand - an issue which proved costly at the Australian Open at the start of the year. Nevertheless, she overcame the issue and sealed her place in the Citi Open quarter-final. "I think I died about three times in that match and I came back - honestly, I don't know how," Raducanu said in her post-match comments on court. "Camila is such a battler. I was working so hard for every single point. "When she comes back, the dynamic of the match changes a bit, so I am just really pleased to have got through that one."

Of her own hand issues, Raducanu said: "At the beginning of the match I was alright, but then throughout the match my skin was just ripping off - it was pretty raw and open." Raducanu will go on to play Russian Liudmila Samsonova for a place in the last four. The British number one said: "She is a big ball striker and has the ability to take the game out of your hands, so for me it is just about recovery as best as I can for tomorrow. "Both of us are going to be feeling it, and it is a matter of who is going to stay tough."

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