There are query marks over British star Emma Raducanu’s Australian Open marketing campaign after she retired with an obvious ankle pressure in her second-round match on the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The 2021 US Open champion took solely 22 minutes to brush the primary set 6-0 towards Slovakian qualifier Viktoria Kusmova however faltered and misplaced the second set 7-5.
Raducanu summoned the coach courtside to closely strap her left ankle in an extended damage break.
The 20-year-old Raducanu tried to play on, however was not capable of full the primary level of the third set. She was tearful when she got here to the web and acknowledged she couldn’t proceed.
Raducanu was marked as one in every of tennis’ hottest stars when she gained at Flushing Meadows. Her profession since has been dogged by accidents. She retired from matches 4 occasions in 2022 and most just lately has needed to take care of a wrist damage.
Meanwhile, veteran Venus Williams blew a 5-3 last-set lead in a match that stretched over almost seven hours due to rain in shedding to Zhu Lin of China 3-6 6-2 7-5.
The 42-year-old Williams fought by each second of the second-round match which started after midday and ended close to 7 pm, which started open air and ended indoors, and which contained 13 service breaks earlier than lastly tipping in favour of Zhu in the previous couple of video games.
Seven-time grand slam champion Williams, beginning her thirtieth 12 months on the WTA Tour, gained her first tour match in almost two years when she beat Katie Volynets on Monday within the first spherical of the Auckland event. She performed solely 4 matches in 2022 and hoped to progress to the second spherical of a event for the primary time since 2019.
“It was not great,” Williams mentioned. “Definitely tough. I’ve played a lot of matches in my life and I’ve played through some intense delays but it was definitely like two separate matches.
“Outside, it was actually robust. It was wet, windy. It was tennis but it surely was extra about surviving as an alternative of enjoying nice. Indoors, it was fully completely different however I obtained to hit a number of balls in order that’s vital.”
Top-seeded American Coco Gauff will face Zhu in the quarterfinals after her 6-4 6-4 win over compatriot Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion.
Seventh-ranked Gauff also had to play indoors and beat Kenin in just under 90 minutes, levelling their head-to-head record after Kenin beat Gauff en route to the Australian Open title.
Danka Kovinic, the seventh seed, beat former champion Lauren Davis 4-6 6-3 6-2 and qualifier Rebeka Masarova beat Anna Blinkova 6-1 6-4.
