Raducanu stunned in 1st round by Sasnovich; Leylah advances
US Open champion Emma Raducanu was sensationally beaten in her first match following her Flushing Meadows triumph, going down in straight sets to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Indian Wells Open on Friday.
The Belarussian, who is currently ranked 100th, stunned the 19-year-old Briton 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 25 minutes.
Raducanu had been on a 10-match winning streak coming into her maiden Indian Wells campaign.
“I’m still so new to everything. The experiences that I’m going through right now, even though I might not feel 100 per cent amazing right now, I know they’re for the greater good,” Raducanu said after the defeat.
“I mean, I’m 18 years old. I need to cut myself some slack.” Raducanu, who did not drop a set during her US Open run, appeared in control early after winning the opening six points, but Sasnovich claimed the first break in the third game.
Unforced errors proved costly for Raducanu as the clean-striking Sasnovich capitalized to win the first set, before opening the second set with another break.
Raducanu responded with an immediate break back and led 4-2 in the second set, before the Belarussian hit back by winning the next four games to topple the British teenager.
“It was a really good match for me. I play really well,” Sasnovich said. “I know she just won US Open. I lost there in the first round.
But I tried to go on court, I tried to enjoy. I did everything right.” Sasnovich will face twotime Grand Slam winner Simona Halep in the third round after the Romanian defeated Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 in 1:33 hours.
The 11th seed, who split with long-time coach Darren Cahill last month amid an injury-disrupted year, was down a break early before working her way back and dominating the tiebreak.
Halep broke twice in a more controlled second set to claim victory in her 10th appearance at Indian Wells.
“I missed a lot playing tennis at this level this year because I’ve been injured and many months, I couldn’t play matches,” said Halep, who won at Indian Wells in 2015. “I came here a little more aggressive than normal and I’m trying to improve my game and myself.”
Two-time major winner Petra Kvitova eased into the last 32 with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands.
Seventh seed Kvitova set up a showdown with two-time Australian Open champion ictoria Azarenka after she beat Magda Linette 7-5, 3-0 in a walkover. Kvitova leads Azarenka 5-3 in head-to-head battles.
Second seed Iga Swiatek dominated Croatian Petra Martic 6-1, 6-3 to seal her passage into the third round, while fourth seed Elina Svitolina got past Teresa Martincova 6-2, 7-5.
Beaten 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez triumphed over experienced Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-3 and will play ninth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round after she easily accounted for Madison Keys 6-3, 6-1.
Murray finds top form after recovering wedding ring
Andy Murray was reunited with his wedding ring and some of his best tennis as he beat Adrian Mannarino in their first-round match at the BNP Paribas Open.
The former world number one left his ring tied to the shoes which he put out to dry under his car overnight as he was preparing for the tournament in Indian Wells earlier this week. The following morning they were no longer there, prompting an appeal on social media for help in getting them returned.
That proved successful and Murray celebrated by beating Mannarino 6-3, 6-2 in the first round in the Californian desert.
Murray explained: “So basically the day after we realised they were, let’s say, misplaced or someone had moved them, I went and I spoke to the lost and found a couple of times at the hotel that day. They said they’d found nothing.
“I spoke to security. They said they found nothing. I was like, Well, they’re gone’.
“I was going to file a police report to try to get them back or to increase my chance of getting them back.
“Anyway, I went and spoke to the hotel, explained to them that was what I was going to do. They then decided to take all of my details down, the details of the shoes, ring, took me out to the car park and asked exactly where it was I parked.
“I asked them if they could look at the cameras. About an hour later they turned up. One of the employees at the hotel found them in their lost and found. So, yeah, thankfully managed to get them back, which was good.”
Murray will face Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in round two.