- Raducanu powered past Anisimova 6-1, 6-3 on Monday evening in Miami
- The two players are known to be good friends but the Briton showed no mercy
- 22-year-old breaks into the top 50 after win and continues to show strong form
Emma Raducanu’s rampage continued as she beat Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Miami Open – the first time she has won four matches in a row at one event since her 2021 US Open title.
For the second match in a row Raducanu’s opponent was physically compromised but also severely outplayed. In the third round McCartney Kessler retired with a back injury trailing by a set and 3-0. In the fourth round, Anisimova received treatment for what looked like wrist pain.
But do not let those caveats fool you: Raducanu is playing some of the best tennis of her career. She also shows little sign of running out of steam physically – as she has previously when on a roll, cf last year’s fourth-round defeat to Lulu Sun at Wimbledon.
Raducanu is up to 48th in the live rankings but her level is at least 20 spots higher. On Wednesday she will play her quarter-final against either No 4 seed Jessica Pegula or Marta Kostyuk.
What a timely reminder this has been of Raducanu’s ability. She arrived in the worst form of her career and on the eve of the first round prematurely ended her trial with coach Vlado Platenik.
As it turns out, the shedding of yet another coach has freed her up. Moonlighting Mark Petchey, who worked with her as a youngster, was back in the coaching box after missing the third round because of his day job on the Tennis Channel.
Emma Raducanu looked unplayable at times against Amanda Anisimova in Florida on Monday
The two friends shared a hug after Raducanu brushed aside her somewhat compromised rival
The 22-year-old had previously breezed past McCartney Kessler to set up her round-of-16 tie
As helpful as his presence has doubtless been, Raducanu is clearly playing on instinct this fortnight.
Technically the most substantial improvement is on serve. In the Australian Open first round against Ekaterina Alexandrova she hit 15 double faults and the second serve has continued to be a major issue.
But the shot has been transformed in Florida – ironically that is partly down to departed friend Platenik, who in his one week of training suggested a couple of technical tweaks including a raised ball toss.
Against Anisimova it took until the first game of the second set for Raducanu to lose a point on serve – that was 15 points won in a row.
The 23-year-old American, a close friend of Raducanu, was rushing wildly and chucked the last couple of games of the first set. It looked as though another retirement might be in the offing but after heavy taping of the right wrist she struggled on to the finish line and there was a hug and a smile between the pair at the net.
Raducanu is rolling and a first title since the US Open is not out of the question.
