Emma Raducanu’s preparation for her opening match at the Indian Wells Masters was far from ideal.
The Brit defeated Danka Kovinić in straight sets to advance to the next round, but her day leading up to the match threatened to jeopardise her performance. The 20-year-old completed a 6-2, 6-3 victory in one hour and 22 minutes and post-match Raducanu admitted to being asleep minutes before she was called to go on court.
"I didn't feel too good this morning," she told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. "I'm just so happy with the way I fought and dealt with the circumstances. I just woke up feeling not great to be honest. I felt quite ill so I'm just happy to have played the match and then to win it despite how I felt today. Today before the match, I did not warm up.
“Two minutes before I was called I was sleeping in the treatment room so I'm just proud to have got out there and then won." There had been doubts surrounding the fitness of the 2021 US Open champion as she practised ahead of the match with strapping on both wrists.
Prior to arriving in California, the Bromely local suffered with a bout of tonsillitis and as a result, she withdrew from last week's event in Texas and an exhibition tournament earlier this week. But the resilient Raducanu stated she's managing her physical fitness and will assess where she is at after Indian Wells has concluded.
“They're manageable. I'm not 100% but you never really are. I've just been trying to short-term manage it as much as possible. Just trying to get through the tournament and reevaluate after," she said. Raducanu trailed 2-0 in each of the two sets, but grew in confidence after multiple errors sprayed from her opponent’s racket.
Kovinić continued to play some loose shots and along with a poor first-serve percentage in both sets, she was facing an uphill battle. Raducanu stayed patient and played smart to grind out a solid victory. "It was a good match," said the word no. 77, who will play Poland’s Magda Linette in the third round.
"Danka is an extremely difficult opponent. I was expecting a battle and I am just glad to get through. I am happy I stuck in. Being a break down is obviously difficult, but mentally I just took it one point at a time."
Elsewhere in the tournament Raducnau’s compatriot and marathon man Andy Murray came from behind to defeat Tomas Etcheverry 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 to reach the second round, where he will battle Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta.
Jack Draper needed less than hour to win his opener, beating Switzerland's Leandro Riedi 6-1 6-1 to set up a meeting with compatriot Dan Evans.
