MY ACCOUNT
Emma Raducanu was forced to retire in her first WTA Tour match since the Australian Open.
The US Open champion exited to Danka Kovinic in round two in Melbourne, as her bid for another major title was hampered by a painful blister to her right hand.
A month on, Raducanu took on Daria Saville at the Abierto Zapopan in Guadalajara but was forced to call a halt to proceedings after three hours and 36 minutes, with the scores at 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 4-3. It was the longest WTA match of 2022.
The 19-year-old had fallen at the first hurdle at last year’s Linz Open, the only previous event where she appeared as the top seed, and she might have feared a repeat amid a slow start on Tuesday.
Raducanu and Saville traded early breaks, before the Australian seemed to settle first, claiming a 3-1 lead.
Back roared Raducanu and a tense opener continued in back-and-forth fashion, although the big opportunities fell the Briton’s way.
She let slip three break points at 5-4 but had four more at 6-5, eventually able to celebrate with a mixture of relief and delight when Saville netted.
Raducanu served for the match at 5-3 in the second, but Saville battled on not only to force the tie-break but also a deciding set.
The Australian fell 2-0 down in the third but was ahead 3-2 when Raducanu took a medical time-out and returned to court with heavy strapping on her leg. After struggling through another two games, Raducanu retired a break down at 4-3, meaning Saville will progress to face Caroline Dolehide.
Meanwhile, after the shock exit of Madison Keys the previous day, Raducanu’s fellow seeds had no such issues this time around.
Sara Sorribes Tormo and Camila Osorio each advanced in straight sets, beating Katie Volynets and Viktoriya Tomova respectively.
