Emma Raducano has admitted she fears “bad blood” with Andy Murray after pulling out of the Wimbledon mixed doubles tournament.
The Scot was ruled out of the final at the All England Club last summer when Raducano withdrew before her first-round opponent, citing soreness in her wrist.
Murray is known to have been very disappointed and Raducano’s run to the fourth round of the singles was overshadowed by the hype, her best performance at a Grand Slam since her US Open win.
Raducano lost her serve five times and committed five double faults, but she showed a lot of courage during her victory over Amanda Anisimova.
So the 22-year-old was especially happy to congratulate Murray afterward She won in the second round of the Australian Open over Amanda Anisimova on ThursdayWhich set up a conflict with Iga Swiatek.
“Then I sent him a long message apologizing if I caused any trouble,” Raducano said. “I think that’s the last thing I want at Wimbledon.”
He added: “He is someone I grew up looking up to and I don’t want any grudges or hard feelings with him. I sent him a long message and he took it well and replied saying he was disappointed but he understood.”
“We’re fine now. We walk next to each other and say: ‘Hello, well done,'” he added. “Obviously it’s really great to see him with Novak (Djokovic) here as well.”
Murray is now focusing on coaching Novak Djokovic as the Serbian looks to win a record 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
While Murray’s focus is now off the court as he helps Novak Djokovic try to win more Grand Slam titles, Raducano is determined not to let any external negativity affect her.
She’s had to get used to a lot of hype since her New York debut, and said in her press conference after beating Anisimova 6-3, 7-5: “I think I’m approaching it this year quite holistically in the sense of having good people around me, who have a positive outlook.” .
“Anything that doesn’t necessarily serve me, I’m pretty wild about just prioritizing myself and focusing. And anything that wants to try and impact me, I don’t have time for that. I don’t hate. I just don’t want to.” Kind of let that in.”
It was another strong showing from Raducanu, who showed smarts to wear down the powerful weapons of Anisimova, one of her closest friends on the tour.
However, there were concerns about Raducano’s back condition, with the British No. 2 calling on a coach early in the second set after feeling uncomfortable.
Her preparations for the new season were disrupted by a back spasm that forced her to withdraw from a tournament in Auckland earlier this month.
Raducano hopes it has not exacerbated the problem, saying: “I have not fully investigated the matter yet.
“I think it’s almost expected when you haven’t played a game for a long time, and then you have a couple of really physical games. I think some little hiccups will pop up here and there. I just hope it’s that.”
“I was able to get through some of the pain today but I’ll just try to recover as best as I can over the next day.”
This is Raducanu’s first time reaching the third round in Melbourne and she pointed her head after some key points to show her mental strength.
“If Katie Poulter sees this, she might have a little say,” Raducano said with a smile. “I think she’s the OG of that character. We have a good relationship, so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me using her in clutch moments. But I was holding on tight to her.”
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