Emma Raducanu vows to become 'one of the best athletes on the tour' after Iga Swiatek loss at Indian Wells
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Published 15/03/2023 at 09:52 GMT
Emma Raducanu's Indian Wells run came to an end in the last 16 as she was beaten in straight sets by world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Raducanu had won three matches in a row for only the second time since her 2021 US Open victory and said it was a "positive week". The British No. 1 said Swiatek is "physically much further ahead than I am at this moment" and is looking forward to their next meeting.
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Emma Raducanu has vowed to become “one of the best athletes on the tour” after losing to a “ruthless” Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells on Tuesday.
Raducanu’s run at the tournament came to an end with a 6-3 6-1 defeat against the world No. 1 in the last 16.
Still, the tournament represents a positive step for Raducanu, especially after she nearly didn’t play due to a wrist injury and the after-effects of tonsillitis.
She knocked out the 20th seed Magda Linette and 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in her best run since her shock US Open win in 2021.
"I can take a positive week,” Raducanu told the BBC.
"I think I had a few good wins earlier against some great opponents. I did two good training weeks in London. They paid off to an extent, but ultimately, two weeks of training isn't going to cut it against the world No. 1 right now.
"I'm looking forward to playing her after I've got more time under my belt.
"Physically, I feel like that's going to be one of my biggest assets. I think that I'm going to be one of the best athletes on the tour, and that's going to be a big part of my game.
"I would say there is a very long way to go, but I'm definitely starting the right work now."
Raducanu has previously said that she expects to take “strides” forward this year under coach Sebastian Sachs, who she started working with in December.
She was impressive at Indian Wells, playing arguably her best tennis since winning her first Grand Slam title at the age of 18.
However, she did not have enough in the tank to go toe-to-toe with Swiatek, who is bidding to become the first repeat WTA champion at Indian Wells since Martina Navratilova in 1991.
"I think that Iga played a very good level and showed why she is No. 1 in the world," said Raducanu.
"She was very ruthless with the way that she played. I think I was able to stay competitive for the beginning of the match, but ultimately she ground me down, and by the end of it, I was just taking way too long to recover from one rally.
"Overall, I feel like physically she is much further ahead than I am at this moment.
"I think I was able to stay competitive in the beginning of the first set. I think the first three games took over 20 minutes, and we were having some pretty epic rallies.
"I actually think my defence got better. But that meant me running. I think that she just kind of ground me down a bit."
Raducanu will next head to the Miami Open, which starts on March 22.
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Swiatek, who faces Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-finals after she beat fifth seed Caroline Garcia, says patience is the key for her on slower courts at Indian Wells.
"I always want to finish [points] as fast as possible if I have a chance, but for sure, I know that sometimes it's not going to be possible here.
"I'm pretty sure that some of these shots would be winners in different conditions, but here the ball is bouncing and it's slower.
"I'm always pretty good in defence. I knew that I can't rush it and I can't be not patient, so I just stayed solid and I wanted to choose the right directions. It was more about that, not the speed and forcing everything to play a winner."
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