It was always clear in the aftermath of Emma Raducanu’s US Open victory that it would take time for her to adjust to the rigours of professional tennis, a process that has defined the start of her season. After struggling with a series of different ailments, Raducanu arrived in Indian Wells still recovering from a left leg injury sustained in Guadalajara last month. Days before the BNP Paribas Open began, she was not certain of her participation.
But when Raducanu did step out on to the court on Friday, she was ready. The 19-year-old started by producing one of her best sets of tennis since New York and in the turbulent three-set match that followed, she toiled through to defeat Caroline Garcia 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and reach the third round in Indian Wells.
A reflection of the hype that still surrounds Raducanu came even before she played a single point. Despite Iga Swiatek, the third seed, and the former champion Simona Halep both competing on Friday, Raducanu was assigned the top Stadium 1 court ahead of them.
She immediately made the most of her high billing, breaking Garcia’s serve in the opening game. Raducanu moved well from the beginning, soaked up Garcia’s greater weight of shot and counterpunched efficiently, constantly stepping inside the baseline to flip points from defence to attack.
Harriet Dart rallied from a set down at Indian Wells to defeat the former world No 3 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and progress to the third round for the first time in her career. The 12th-seeded Ukrainian broke the Briton four times in the opening set at the BNP Paribas Open before Dart steadied herself in the second.
The British No 3, ranked 122nd, managed to break Svitolina three times consecutively to lead 5-3 then smashed a crucial ace to claim the set. Dart rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the decider but Svitolina scraped back some points before the match - which took two hours and 17 minutes - finished 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the qualifier's favour.
Kaia Kanepi will face Dart next after the Estonian needed just 81 minutes to upset 22nd seed Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-3. Liam Broady, meanwhile, failed to progress past the first round despite taking a set off Miomir Kecmanovic. PA Media
As Garcia, a former world No 4 who has cascaded down the rankings in recent years, began to impose herself consistently, Raducanu struggled to keep up. Her first and second serve speeds both dropped significantly and her passivity allowed Garcia to seize the initiative. However Raducanu maintained her composure and, at a pivotal moment at the beginning of the third set, moved back inside the baseline and arrested Garcia’s momentum with a great hold of serve before breezing to victory.
“As soon as I let up and my racquet speed dropped, my ball speed dropped, she climbed on top of it straight away. I knew that I had to make some adjustments in the third set. I’m really happy that I was able to work that out in the match and come through a tough one,” Raducanu said.
The victory marks Raducanu’s first WTA 1000 win and she has scuppered a run of five losses in six matches. Raducanu, who received a first round bye, will face the unseeded Petra Martic in the third round.
Earlier in the day, Andy Murray pulled off a milestone victory in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open, clinching his 700th career ATP main draw win in a typically gritty match filled with resilience in absence of his top level. After losing the first set heavily and later trailing 3-1 in the final set, Murray recovered to defeat Taro Daniel of Japan 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Murray will next face the 31st seed, Alexander Bublik of Kazhakstan.
Only 17 other men’s players in the history of the sport have achieved 700 wins and only Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have achieved it among active players. “It means a lot,” Murray told Amazon Prime. “It was a target I set myself towards the end of last year and with everything that has gone on the last few years it has not been easy to get there. Great achievement, not a lot of guys have been able to do that. I am really happy about it.”
