Emma Raducanu will take on Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in arguably the biggest match of her career since winning the 2021 US Open.
Her best run since being crowned US Open champion at the age of 18 continued as she brushed aside American 17th seed Amanda Anisimova in straight sets.
Raducanu did not drop a point on her serve in the first set, which underpinned an impressive performance that saw her move into the top 50 of the world rankings.
“I’ve come a long way in the last week since Indian Wells [where Raducanu lost in the first round],” she told Sky Sports Tennis.
“I wasn’t necessarily feeling great about my tennis, about everything, but this week I have some really good people around me who I trust and who I have fun with off the court, and that is extremely important.
“When I play my best I am definitely authentic, true to myself and creative. I feel when I am boxed into a regimented way then I am not able to express myself in the same way. So I’m happy with how I realised that this week.”
Earlier this month, Raducanu ended her coaching trial with Vladimir Platenik after just two weeks following her first-round exit from Indian Wells, saying it “wasn’t quite heading in the right direction”.
Currently looking for a permanent presence in her box alongside fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, Raducanu has found a short-term solution in working alongside Jane O’Donoghue, her childhood mentor and former LTA coach, and Mark Petchey, a former coach of Andy Murray and commentator and broadcaster on the Tennis Channel.
The 22-year-old admits feeling “comfortable” and “relaxed” in her new environment where she is able to express herself on and off the court.
She said: “I think I’m playing better than in Australia this year. Circumstances change all the time, but for me the biggest thing I’m proud of is just finding the competitive spirit and being there for every ball and drawing that out of myself. I think that’s kind of been missing in the last few months and even few years at times.
“I think that’s the biggest win for me, just feeling a lot of hunger, feeling on the court competitive, wanting to run down every ball, and that’s the biggest win I would say from this week.”
Raducanu has now won four matches in a row for the first time since that incredible victory in New York and it is the first time she has reached the last-eight of a WTA 1000 event.
Petchey is a former Davis Cup player for Great Britain who was involved in Raducanu’s development as a teenager in the years before her US Open victory.
“There’s more switching on and off, rather than be ‘on’ the entire time,” explained Raducanu.
“I’m someone who works really hard and can be really intense, but sometimes too intense. It’s harder to be extremely focused when you need to be on the match court because you’re focused from the first minute to the last.
“So I think just being able to switch off and have fun with them and play Spikeball before the match, and we just create certain routines. They bring small doses of happiness that I guess just keep you going, the small things.”
Credit: https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/29833/13335440/emma-raducanu-british-star-on-a-charge-at-miami-open-with-quarter-final-showdown-against-jessica-pegula-next