Emma Raducanu continued the winning feeling by sealing a comfortable victory in her opening match of the National Bank Open in Montreal on Monday.

She picked up statement wins over Marta Kostyuk, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka and former world No 3 Maria Sakkari en-route to the final four in Washington last week and she continued the feel-good factor at the WTA 1000 tournament in Canada.

Raducanu, who jumped 13 places in the rankings to world No 33 to reclaim her position as British No 1, eased past Elena-Gabriela Ruse from Romania 6-2 6-4 in front of coach Mark Petchey after their partnership was left up in the air following her Wimbledon third-round defeat.

Raducanu, who will next face American 32nd seed Peyton Stearns in the second round, said: “I’m so happy to come through that. I know Elena, she’s a very good friend of mine, and it’s difficult when you have to play someone you’re close to, so I’m really proud of how I put that to one side for the match and backed up a good week last week in DC and performed well today.

“It’s extremely difficult [to play someone you know]. We spent a lot of time together in off-court practices, and she’s a great girl. It’s not nice when you see her name in the dra,w but I’m really pleased with how I performed with myself.”

The Brit stared down five break points in her opening service game, but she survived that before taking control of the first set, winning the last five games.

Ruse secured a couple of service breaks in the second set, but Raducanu was not to be denied, with her more powerful shot-making enabling her to hit back for 5-4.

She eased home from there in front of delighted coach Petchey, and she is now 4-0 against Romanian players in tour-level main-draw matches.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong said: “That’s a performance she should feel proud of. Tidy tennis and she played very much within herself.

“I do feel like she’s got a few more gears to go if needed, but she is through to the second round.”

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