Madrid, Apr 24 (Reporter) Emma Raducanu's return to the WTA Tour began with a hard-fought win over Dutch opponent Suzan Lamens in the Madrid Open first round. The British number two, playing competitively for the first time in almost a month, ground out a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory on the outdoor clay on Wednesday. Raducanu trailed by a break in each set before instantly recovering and edged the bigger points to secure victory. It was her first win on outdoor clay in almost three years. "I'm pleased with how I just got on with it and didn't try to make too many excuses or complain too much - to myself or to my box," Raducanu told BBC Sport. "It was just accepting it was a challenge. I don't necessarily feel so comfortable on this surface but it is a surface I can get better on." Raducanu took a "physical and mental" break from competitive action after reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals last month, instead opting for a 10-day training block in Los Angeles. The world number 49 spent the time there working with Mark Petchey, who is coaching her on an informal basis and was watching as she beat Lamens in her first clay-court appearance of the season. Raducanu, 22, will play Ukrainian 24th seed Marta Kostyuk in the second round. There were mixed fortunes for the other two Britons playing their first-round matches on Wednesday. British number three Sonay Kartal is through with a 6-2 7-5 win over Romania's Jaqueline Cristian, but Francesca Jones is out after losing 7-6 4-6 6-3 to Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine. The Madrid Open is a WTA 1000 event - the rung of tournaments below the Grand Slams - and one of the most important in the build-up to next month's French Open...////...