Indian Wells: At the BNP Paribas Open’s opening round in Indian Wells, Emma Raducanu defeated Danka Kovinic with a score of 6-2, 6-3 to make her comeback from injury official.
After revealing that the wrist issue she had last season had returned, Raducanu’s participation in her first match since falling to Coco Gauff in the second round of the Australian Open had been in doubt.
The British No. 1 withdrew from a tournament last week in Texas as well as an exhibition competition earlier this week, but he still gave a cool-headed performance to advance to the next round despite obviously not being at full strength.
Although Raducanu, 20, had strapped on both wrists when she practised in Indian Wells on Wednesday, it was tonsillitis she recently experienced that seemed to be bothering her the most on Thursday.
After dropping the first two games, Raducanu recovered to break in the third and then took advantage of Kovinic’s numerous unforced errors to win six straight games and clinch the opening set in 33 minutes.
Although winning the first set, Raducanu had trouble breathing in between points and dropped the opening two games of the second set.
But, much as in the first game, the British star quickly came back, winning four straight matches to secure her place in the next round and earn just her third victory of an injury-plagued season in one hour and 22 minutes.
She will compete against Magda Linette, a Polish player, to advance to the third round.
“The match was good,” said Raducanu. “Danka is a very challenging opponent. I knew it would be tough, but I’m just relieved I made it.
“I’m glad I persisted. It’s certainly challenging to be broken, but mentally, I just focused on one point at a time.”
On her upcoming opponent, Raducanu continued: “Magda has had a fantastic season, as evidenced by her outcomes. I’m excited to play the match and am glad to have another round at Indian Wells.”
Previously, Jack Draper defeated Leandro Riedi with a score of 6-1, 6-1, to advance to the next round.
Draper defeated Swiss qualifier Riedi in just 56 minutes in his first encounter since falling to Rafael Nadal in the opening round of the Australian Open in January.
The 21-year-old will face fellow British Dan Evans in the third round to determine his position.
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