Emma Raducanu: Andy Murray, Dan Evans back British No 1 to rebound after shock Indian Wells defeat
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Updated 11/10/2021 at 08:45 GMT
Emma Raducanu's return to action did not go to plan as she was beaten in straight sets by Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Raducanu, 18, was playing her first match since her shock win at the US Open, and has received support from fellow Brits Andy Murray and Dan Evans.
Highlights: Murray digs deep to beat rising star Alcaraz at Indian Wells
Andy Murray and Dan Evans have both backed fellow Brit Emma Raducanu to come back stronger after her defeat at Indian Wells.
Raducanu, 18, lost her first match since winning the US Open as she was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Murray, who came through a tough three-set match with Carlos Alcaraz to reach the third round, said he thinks the result will just be a “little bump” in the road for Raducanu.
"What happened in New York was obviously incredible but in tennis and sport it doesn't just go in an upwards direction all the time," said the former world No 1, who next faces Alexander Zverev.
"There's always little bumps and stuff along the way. It's just a little bump, but I think pretty much everyone was sort of expecting that as well. I don't think it's anything unexpected, to be honest."
"She's unbelievably bright, well-educated and stuff. So you would imagine she would certainly be a lot better equipped to deal with everything that's going on than most and deal with it in a more mature way than I'd have done when I was 18."
Raducanu said that she needed to cut herself “some slack” after the loss, having not played for a month since her stunning win in New York.
British No 1 Evans, who beat Kei Nishikori 4-6 6-3 6-4 in his opening match at Indian Wells, thinks a “bit of normality” could be good for the teenager.
“I would not know what she’s going through. I think I read somewhere that she said it was sort of a good feeling to get that match out of the way, and that’s probably true, isn’t it, that she’ll now start getting back to a bit of normality where she can play and get ready for the next tournament,” he said.
Raducanu is next set to head back to Europe to compete in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow and then the Transylvania Open in Romania, the birthplace of her father. She is also entered into the WTA 250 Upper Austria Ladies in Linz, Austria, although that is in the same week as the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
Raducanu has been without a coach since she parted company with Andrew Richardson, and said after her loss in Indian Wells that she is still seeking an experienced mentor.
Evans, who has spent periods of his career travelling on his own, said: “It’s not easy, obviously. But she’s got the right people to be able to do the right things at the tournament.
“If she needs to hit, she needs to feed balls, that’s no issue, where that was my biggest issue is that I didn’t even have someone with me. Obviously the coaching thing will be sorted soon, I guess. Then hopefully it might be a bit of a longer partnership.”
Evans continues his campaign on Monday as he faces 11th seed Diego Schwartzman in the third round.
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