Poor outing for Brits as Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray crash out from the Indian Wells
Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu were two of the British favourites at the ongoing 2022 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. While not many expected Murray to make a run for the title given his physical limitations and a difficult road being a wildcard, a lot of expectations were on Emma who has become darling of the United Kingdom.
Emma was up against Tour veteran Petra Martic in the third round and despite winning the first set, she was unable to capitalise on the match. Martic won the match 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-5 after 2 hours and 46 minutes. As for Murray, he was up against 31st seeded Alexander Bublik with the Kazhakhstani player winning the match 7-6(9), 6-3 in 2 hours and 1 minute.
Emma Raducanu yet to win 2 consecutive matches this season
While Emma did show some brilliance in the match that proved her win at the US Open was not just a fluke, it was not enough for the day as the Croatian was prepared for everything Emma put in her way. In a match that saw Martic win only by a margin of 9 points, it was Emma’s discipline that cost her the match as despite serving for the match, she lost 3 straight games to end up on the losing side.
Emma had 2 aces, 8 double faults and converted 6 of her 10 breakpoints to finish the match with 104 points. Martic from the other side of the net had 8 aces, 4 double faults and won 8 of her 15 breakpoints to clinch the match with 113 points to wrap up her first Top-20 win since 2019.
Andy Murray will have to wait for win number 701
With his first-round win over Taro Daniel, Murray became the 4th active player to have 700 Tour wins behind the Big-3. He will however have to wait for the 701st win as Bublik overpowered him. In a tough tiebreaker, Bublik had drained the Brit enough to take the second set quickly and proceed into the third round.
Murray had 4 aces, 4 double faults, no breakpoint converted despite having 6 chances, hit 17 winners, made 18 unforced errors to finish with 75 points. Bublik on the other hand had 11 aces, 6 double faults, a solitary breakpoint converted from 5 opportunities, hit 38 winners and 33 unforced errors to take the win with 84 points and knock the Brit out.
Sarthak Shitole
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