Emma Raducanu admits she needs to 'focus' and provides update after beating Elise Mertens at Citi Open

Raducanu offered glimpses of her best form as she powered her way to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win in Washington.

She's pleased with the way she's playing, especially after her recent exploits at Wimbledon.

But Raducanu also feels she must 'focus' more in order to evolve as a player, having been pushed all the way by Mertens last night.

“I think getting through first rounds are always difficult," said the 2021 US Open champion.

"I think first rounds are all about getting through them and trying to find a way to work your way into the tournament and I'm very proud of that.

"I think I'm just most proud of my mentality and character today.

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"I was playing some pretty good tennis in patches throughout, especially in the first set and moments in the third set. I lost some focus in the second.

"It's not easy playing at 11.30. I got here Thursday night so I'm still jet-lagged."

She continued: “I've been training and playing so good in practice. I've been really on it.

"So on the court, I was telling myself, ‘Look, you've been so focused for so long. There's no way you're not going to try right now. You're going to fight until the very end. You didn't put all that work in for nothing.’

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"I'm happy with how I pulled myself out of it, but I do need to focus."

Raducanu hasn't won a singles title during her professional career, excluding her US Open triumph.

But her encouraging performance bodes well as she looks to end that duck.

In other tennis news, meanwhile, Andy Murray and Dan Evans are set to play doubles together again on Tuesday as they target gold at the Paris Olympics.

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Evans was winded earlier in the week and, now, he's told the Daily Mail he considered pulling out of the tournament.

"Myself and Andy will be back out today and are hoping to build momentum," he said.

"I lost in the singles yesterday to Stefanos Tsitsipas, but that has not been my priority.

"I thought about pulling out after I winded myself earlier in the week, but that would not sit right with me when I'm representing Great Britain at the Olympics.

"Andy has had a day to recover, so that works in our favour and we just want to start a little bit faster.

"The parties for the athletes who have finished competing look like fun, but we are not ready to join them yet!"