‘Rivals are losing respect for Emma with every defeat’

EMMA RADUCANU is losing the “respect” of her fellow players she won at the US Open with every new defeat, according to Daniela Hantuchova.

The British No.1’s latest setback came at the Miami Open where she lost to world No.53 Katerina Siniakova despite being a set and a break up and then serving for the match at 5-4 in the third.

Thursday’s defeat means Raducanu, below, has won only two matches in her first five events this year.

Amazon Prime analyst and former world No.5 Hantuchova said: “That was a tough one for Emma. I think it’ll hurt big time because of the chances she had.

“She was the better player for most of it. But the thing is now with Emma, everyone wants to beat her. Everyone is trying to figure out how to play against her.

“All the locker room respect she had after the US Open is now kind of going away, which is a shame. It is going to be important now for Emma to regroup, rethink what she has to change and get out there on the practice court. There is no other way around it.

Just keep putting the hard work in.” Raducanu said before her Miami debut, below, that her main aim this season was to stay fit after testing positive for Covid before Christmas and then suffering from a blister in Australia and a leg injury in Mexico.

But her problems appear mental as well as physical.

Her Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong said: “I just feel that Emma got a little tight trying to close that match out.”

And like in her previous defeat in Indian Wells, her lack of practice and match time left her running on empty.

“It was humid and it was not easy out there,” said Slovakian Hantuchova. “But this is where you have to be tough if you want to win matches like this.”

HEATHER Watson’s 4-6 6-4 7-6 win over Elina Svitolina sealed her first back-to-back Tour-level victory since reaching the last four in Birmingham last June.The Britsh No.3 now plays Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, in the third round in

Miami.