Raducanu: I’m still finding my feet
Teen secures back-to-back wins in Romania, could meet Halep in semis
US Open champion Emma Raducanu kept herself on course for a semi-final showdown with former world No. 1 Simona Halep, after a 6-3, 6-4 win over home favourite Ana Bogdan in the second round of the Transylvania Open yesterday.
Raducanu followed up her maiden WTA Tour win over Polona Hercog - a battling three-set victory on Tuesday - with a much improved performance against Bogdan, 28, and looked steady on serve, winning 87.5 per cent of her first-serve points in Cluj, Romania.
The 18-year-old will next face 19-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the quarter-finals, with Halep possibly lying in wait in the last four.
Halep needed just 73 minutes to finish off Gabriela Ruse 6-1, 6-2 , and will go on to meet Jaqueline Adina Cristian in the last eight.
"It was so good to play a Romanian here. All the volunteers who go into making this tournament possible, we really appreciate their support. Ana was a great opponent," Raducanu said in her post-match interview, during which she also spoke in Romanian.
The Briton's father, who is travelling with her, is Romanian and they intend to visit her grandmother, who lives in Bucharest, after the tournament.
When reminded that this was only her second win on the WTA Tour, following her surprise US Open victory where she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam, she replied: "It's definitely taking me some time to find my feet still.
"I'm taking some learnings from every match I play. I still don't think I'm the finished product yet."
Raducanu added that she has gifted her US Open trophy to the Lawn Tennis Association, as it had "done so much" for her.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray said his defeat in the second round of the Vienna Open on Wednesday was just another bump on the road. The former world No. 1 is convinced it is just a matter of time before he is going deep into tournaments and winning again.
Murray had secured his first win over a top-10 player in 14 months after beating Hubert Hurkacz in the opening round, but the 34-year-old failed to advance further as he was outplayed 6-3, 6-4 by Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, who had hip surgery in 2018 and 2019 and is currently ranked 156th, was also knocked out in the second round in Antwerp, third round at Indian Wells and second round in San Diego earlier this month.
"I'm not going to keep losing in the second and third round of tournaments," said Murray.
"I will get better and I will improve and I will break through in one week, or two weeks, or a few months. It will happen." - REUTERS
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