Midway through the final set of an increasingly painful spectacle, it looked like Emma Raducanu was finished. As the games piled up against her and she visibly struggled physically, Raducanu limped slowly between rallies and she was barely any more agile once they began. It seemed like she had nothing more to give.
Even when she appeared to be rounding on certain defeat, however, Raducanu refused to stop searching for a way through. The 22 year-old was rewarded for her faith and fortitude with one of the best wins of her career as she recovered from numerous deficits in the final set of an utterly chaotic tussle to defeat Emma Navarro, the eighth seed, 7-6 (6), 2-6, 7-6 (3) and reach the third round of the Miami Open.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of this win for Raducanu, who had arrived in Miami struggling badly for confidence after losing five of her previous six matches. Even though she won the US Open on the same surface, this is Raducanu’s first ever top 10 win on hard courts and her third overall.
Asked where this moment ranks in her season so far, Raducanu said: “This is No 1. Emma is a top 10 opponent, I haven’t beaten a top 10 opponent this year so that’s my first one. She made me work hard for every single point. I don’t think the whole match was pretty but just taking into account: I had to fight. I had to scrap. I had to be aggressive because there was no way I was going to beat her trying to out-rally her.”
It was clear from the beginning that Raducanu was feeling good on the court. She opened the match attacking her forehand with clarity and confidence. Her serve, which has also been a significant liability this year, was potent. In the final stages of a high quality set, it was Navarro who felt the pressure and squandered two set points.
While the durable and consistent Navarro comfortably maintained her steady level at the beginning of the set and continued to drag Raducanu into arduous, lengthy rallies as frequently as possible, Raducanu’s intensity rapidly dropped in set two. Her footwork practically slowed to a halt. As the second set fell away from Raducanu, she was badly struggling.
Before the final set, Raducanu received treatment from the trainer for what appeared to be blisters on her left foot. The medical timeout appeared to make little difference early in the final set as she hobbled around the court and immediately lost her serve.
But Raducanu desperately searched for a way back into the match and her determination left its mark on an increasingly tentative Navarro, whose composure, and forehand, crumbled.
From 1-3 down, Raducanu reeled off five games in a row to lead 5-3. The momentum shifts, however, did not stop. Navarro soon served for the match at 6-5. Then the pair found themselves in a final set tie-break. As the lead moved from one player to another and back again, the one constant was Raducanu’s determination to take the ball early and control her destiny. She dictated the vast majority of the final set and she struck the ball cleanly in the decisive moments. Her courage earned her an unforgettable win.
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“I’m really proud of how I managed to find a third wind,” she said. “I was absolutely exhausted in the second set and I genuinely thought my legs were going to stop. Just keep fighting. I literally played every point like it was going to be my last.”
This breakthrough result for Raducanu had been preceded by her opting to end her trial partnership with the Slovak coach Vladimir Platenik on the eve of the tournament. Still, Raducanu noted that her work over the past few weeks contributed to this result. After a brutal month on and off the court, she has found her way again: “I’ve gone through a lot and I told myself that you’ve gone through too much to leave it to her,” said Raducanu. “I was just fighting every single point.”
In the men’s draw Novak Djokovic, the No 4 seed, beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-0, 7-6(1) to reach the third round where he will face the world No 69, Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
