Emma Raducanu's stunning career first in return to form at Indian Wells
The 20-year-old struggled in 2022, but appears to be returning to form.
Emma Raducanu has won three matches in a row for just the second time since claiming her maiden grand slam title after she reached the round of 16 at Indian Wells. Raducanu entered the WTA 1000 event under an injury cloud and appeared to have both her wrists strapped in her practice sessions.
However, the British 20-year-old knocked out No.20 seed Magda Linette in the round of 64, before following it up with a hard-fought victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia.
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Her 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 victory over the No.13 seeded Brazilian marks her second career victory over a World Top 15 player. The last time she defeated an opponent in the World Top 15 was on route to her maiden grand slam win at the US Open.
Raducanu also marked her first victory against a World Top 50 player in three sets with her other wins coming in straight sets. To show her progress, Raducanu has now won three matches in a row for just the second time since winning the 2021 US Open.
Raducanu spoke about her form at the beginning of the year and claimed she felt like she had recovered some momentum. Despite a number of setbacks in 2023, Raducanu finally appears to be on a roll at Indian Wells.
Emma Raducanu, playing very well in Indian Wells, gets a great top 15 win over Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to reach the last 16 at the Desert. Good to see her playing at this level.
Next? Swiatek or Andreescu! pic.twitter.com/mZlECOOwWG— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 13, 2023
What a BATTLE ⚔️@EmmaRaducanu defeats Haddad Maia in three sets to progress to the last 16 in Indian Wells!
Next faces the winner of Swiatek vs. Andreescu in #TennisParadise 🍿 pic.twitter.com/VSOIpAZVmZ— wta (@WTA) March 13, 2023
treatment smiles into the r16! 😁 pic.twitter.com/26oB28IoMH
— Emma Raducanu (@EmmaRaducanu) March 13, 2023
Emma Raducanu is having a sneakily good run at Indian Wells (first top-20 win since the 2021 US Open) and I thoroughly enjoyed this point pic.twitter.com/7TzOxBqda2
— Ella Brockway (@ellabrockway) March 13, 2023
Incredibly, Haddad Maia is Emma Raducanu’s first 3 set win versus a top 50 player. Her Wimbledon and USO runs were all two set wins.
Under pressure versus one of the most match tough players, she kept on forcing herself inside the baseline and attacking until the end. Impressed.— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) March 13, 2023
Emma Raducanu reminding people what the fuss was about by following up win against world no. 21 with win over world no. 13 Haddad Maia 6-4 in the decider to make last 16 in Indian Wells. (Murray v Draper later).
— Mike Dickson (@Mike_Dickson_DM) March 13, 2023
Outstanding from Emma Raducanu 🇬🇧
Proves her critics wrong by defeating Beatriz Haddad-Maia 🇧🇷 6-1 2-6 6-4 to reach the Indian Wells 4th round.
Fantastic tennis for most of the match, especially the 3rd set from BP down early on.
She is back! Wow pic.twitter.com/p65yRXL0bv— Chris Goldsmith (@TheTennisTalker) March 13, 2023
After the match, Raducanu was asked about how she will prepare for her next match against either World No.1 Iga Swiatek or Bianca Andreescu. While either will be extremely tough, Raducanu was focused on her own game in the lead-up to the blockbuster.
"I think right now, getting back and resting...going again for tomorrow's tough match-up in the heat," Raducanu said in her post-match interview. "I will be watching the tennis, but just because I love watching the tennis...but as a spectator."
Leylah Fernandez falls at Indian Wells
Elsewhere at Indian Wells, Caroline Garcia moved into the fourth round after a marathon 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 win over Leylah Fernandez. Even though the match required three sets and nearly two-and-a-half hours to determine a winner, the fifth-seeded Garcia was rarely under pressure from her Canadian opponent who managed just two break chances and could not convert either.
Frenchwoman Garcia applied the pressure after dropping the second set tiebreak and was able to overcome the young Canadian prodigy.
"Losing the second set and the tiebreaker, I tried to really stay to good intensity and fighting," Garcia said. "So that's what I did better in the third set. I put more pressure on her and am very happy with the win."
Elsewhere, 2022 Wimbledon champion Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina defeated Paula Badosa 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the round of 16.
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