Emma Raducanu overcomes injury worries to win Indian Wells opening

Emma Raducanu In the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open, Danka Kvinic’s injury marked her comeback with a beautiful 6-2 6-3 win. indian wells.

Raducanu plays his first game since losing Coco Gauff Suspicion was raised in the second round of the Australian Open in January after he announced that he had returned from last season’s ankle problem.

But the British number one, who was pulled from its event in Texas last week and an exhibition tournament earlier this week, performed well even though it wasn’t at 100 percent to take it to the next stage.

Raducanu trained at Indian Wells on Wednesday with both ankles tied, but what bothered him most during Thursday’s game was the 20-year-old’s recent tonsillitis.

Raducanu lost the opening two games, but regressed in the third, taking advantage of a series of forced mistakes from Kvinic to win six games in a row and take the opening set at 33 minutes.

However, despite his victory in the first set, Raducanu struggled to breathe between the points and lost the first two games of the second set.

Yet, just as with the first, the British star quickly stepped back and won four consecutive matches to secure his place in the next round, taking only his third win in an hour and 22 minutes in an injury-stricken season.

She will face Polish player Magda Linette in the third round.

“It was a good match,” Raducanu said. “Danka is an extremely tough opponent. I was expecting a battle and I’m happy to overcome it.

“I’m glad I got stuck. It’s definitely hard to be a smash, but mentally I got one point at a time.”

Awaiting his next opponent, Raducanu added: “Magda had a great season and their results prove it. I’m looking forward to the game and happy to play another round at Indian Wells.”

Earlier, Jack Draper He had an impressive 6-1 6-1 win over Leandro Riedi to reach the second round.

Playing his first match since his defeat, Draper rafael nadal At the first hurdle of the Australian Open in January, the Swiss qualifiers took just 56 minutes to see Riedi.

He will play the 21-year-old British actor Dan Evans for a place in the third round.