Britain’s Emma Raducanu was knocked out at the second round of the Miami Open on Thursday after a mammoth three-hour match against Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
The U.S. Open champion, who was won just two of her seven matches this season, was a set and a break up in the second set, but Siniakova rallied to secure a 3-6 6-4 7-5 win.
“I think I just felt better as the match was going on because really, I was fighting in the beginning,” Siniakova said after the match.
“It looks like I need to lose before I try to start to play my game! It was a really tough match and it could’ve gone either way, but I’m really happy that it [went] for me.”
Raducanu, 19, claimed the opening set as she raced to a 4-1 lead before Siniakova took a medical time out for a rib issue. She continued her dominance in the second, breaking Siniakova on the way to a 3-1 lead and edge closer toward victory.
However, Siniakova rebounded, twice breaking No. 11 seed Raducanu in the remainder of the set to force a final-set decider.
Raducanu again broke Siniakova in the opening game and earned the opportunity to serve for the match at 5-4, but she could not seal the victory. Instead, Siniakova proved resilient, winning the last four games to pull off an upset and advance to the Round of 32.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Heather Watson claimed a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) over Elina Svitolina, who had a number of fans wearing pro-Ukraine shirts watching her match in tribute to her homeland.
“I really feel for Elina,” Watson said. “I can see she’s not her normal self… She must just have so much on her mind. I think it’s amazing that she’s out here still competing.”
Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka marched into the next round with a straight-sets win over Angelique Kerber, while No. 6 seed Karolina Pliskova lost 6-3, 6-3 to qualifier Anna Kalinskaya.