(Tennis news) British tennis star Emma Raducanu was knocked out in the second round of the Miami Open after losing 3-6 6-4 7-5 to Katerina Siniakova. The 19 year old has endured a difficult season so far, winning just two out of seven matches played and was far from her best in this match. Raducanu converted only five out of 17 break-points and it seemed like her inexperience had caught up with her as she looked nervy throughout the match.
Raducanu started off strongly and got off to a 4-1 lead before Siniakova was forced to take some time out due to a rib problem. The 19 year old eventually closed the set and took a break lead in the second, but the World Number 53 got back in the game as the set went into a decider. The trend continued with Raducanu taking the break lead early in the third set and had the opportunity to go 3-0 up but Siniakova had a fantastic comeback to win three games in a row.
Despite the setback, Raducanu broke and served for the match at 5-4 but a double fault gave the advantage back to Siniakova and the Czech player took full advantage of the opportunity to win the game.
Meanwhile, her compatriot Heather Watson came from a set down to defeat 15th seed Elina Svitolina 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4). The result means that the British tennis player progressed to the third round of the Miami Open for the first time in six years. Speaking after the match, she said “I love this tournament. I've been coming here for so long. I just love it here, I feel like it's home. I'm really happy that I'm coming back into form this year. I was just thinking at the end that my fitness got me through that match. I'm really glad I held my nerve and was able to get over the line." Heather Watson will face either Belinda Bencic or Marta Kostyuk in the next round.
Naomi Osaka also progressed to the third round of the Miami Open after defeating Angelique Kerber 6-2 6-3. The former World Number 1 got off to a strong start and took an early break to go 2-0 up and was in rampant form in a 29 minute opening set and won 91% of her first serve points. The 29 year old’s performance was so sublime that Kerber was denied any chance of fighting back into the match and closed out the 60 minute encounter on her third match point. It was Osaka’s first victory against Kerber since the 2017 US Open and her first win against a top 20 opponent since last year’s Miami Open.
In her post match interview, Osaka said “She's like the first high-seeded player I've beaten this year. I went into the match just really wanting to play my game and I still have memories of all the matches she's beaten me before. I feel like I came into the match wanting to dictate and actually I wanted to come into the net if I needed to … that's something I'm practising and hopefully as I keep playing it will get better."
Also read: Osaka makes winning start at the Miami Open by defeating Astra Sharma
