The Times - UK (2022-05-02)

54 2GM Monday May 2 2022 | the times

SportTennis

5

The clay courts of Madrid unexpect-
edly became a happy hunting ground
for British players yesterday. Emma
Raducanu and Jack Draper gave us
another nod to the future by winning
main-tour matches on the same day for
the first time, while the seasoned
competitor Dan Evans also got in on
the act to complete a trio of straight-
sets victories.
Britons are not known for their prow-
ess on the red stuff — Sue Barker is the
only singles player from this country to
have triumphed at Roland Garros in
the open era, in 1976 — but the speedy
conditions at altitude in the Spanish
capital are clearly to their benefit. At
about 700 metres above sea level, the
ball flies faster than usual through the
thin air.
Raducanu’s aggressive game particu-
larly thrives here, as was evident in the
way she overwhelmed her former
junior rival Marta Kostyuk for a 6-2, 6-1
win in the second round. It was a
complete reversal of the scoreline of
their previous meeting in the quarter-
finals of the Transylvania Open last
October, prompting the 19-year-old to
appear as happy as she has looked on
the court this year.
“It was a really fun match to play,”
Raducanu said. “It was one of those
where you feel like you’re playing really
well, so it’s always nice when that
happens. It doesn’t always but you’ve
definitely got to ride it when it does.”
Raducanu, presently at a career-
high world ranking of No 11, was relent-
less from start to finish. Of most
encouragement was her serve, which
has often misfired in recent months.
She won 88 per cent of points on her
first serve and did not face a single
break point.
“I feel it was one of those matches
where I was so zoned in and focused
that I actually didn’t know what the
score was,” Raducanu said. “I was just so
zoned in on every single point because
I knew as soon as I let up, she was just
waiting for that moment. I’ve known
her since juniors. She’s been known as a
fighter for many, many years and I just
knew that I had to be on it if I wanted to
get the job done.”
As Raducanu’s momentum builds —
this is her fifth win in seven matches on
clay over the past 2½ weeks — the draw
is helpfully opening up. Tomorrow she
plays Anhelina Kalinina, the world
No 37 from Ukraine, who yesterday
stunned the local favourite, Garbiñe
Muguruza, with a 6-3, 6-0 thrashing.
“It’s my first clay-court season, I have
nothing to lose,” Raducanu said. “Any
more matches are a bonus. I am just
vibing here, to be honest. I am loving it.
I have found joy in the process of

three-year partnership that ended in

December 2016.

“He is someone I consider close in my

life and has contributed a lot to my

success in my career,” Djokovic said. “I

was just heartbroken. I’m not going to

get into details of the verdict, because

I’m not in a position to do that, but as his

friend I’m super sad for him.

“I just hope he will go through this

period that he has to be in jail and that

when he comes out he’s able to live his

life as ... I don’t know if we’ll use the

word ‘normal’ because the life is

definitely changing for anybody going

to prison, especially for that long.

“I don’t know how things will turn

out for him. I just pray for him. I hope

things will be well in terms of his mental

health because that’s going to be the

most challenging part.”

By contrast, Andy Murray expressed

little sorrow when he was asked for his

response. While Murray hopes that

Becker will overcome the mental

challenges during his time behind bars,

the Briton believes it was right that

justice took its course.

“I didn’t feel particularly emotional

about it,” Murray said. “He broke the

law and if you do that, I don’t think you

should get special treatment because of

who you are or what you’ve achieved.

“I feel sorry that he’s in that situation,

but I also feel sorry for the people

[Becker’s creditors] that he’s affected

with his decisions and what’s happened

to them. I hope he’s OK and that he

learns from his mistakes. But I didn’t

have a particular emotion about it.”

continued from back

Djokovic’s ‘heartbreak’ over Becker

Becker has just

spent his first

weekend in jail

Raducanu was

dominant in

Madrid as she

beat Kostyuk

in straight sets

getting

knocked

back

down and

getting up

again.”

Draper, 20,

continued to live up to

his billing as Britain’s best

young male prospect by

claiming his first ATP Tour

win on clay. He backed up the

decision by tournament

Draper, 20, claimed

his first ATP Tour

victory on clay

Raducanu’s smile

is back – and so is

her winning touch

Her form is on the up

Raducanu struggled after her US

Open win, but has now won four of

her past five matches

6-2, 6-4 to A Sasnovich (world

No 100), Indian Wells, Oct

4-6, 7-5, 6-1 v P Hercog (124),

Cluj-Napoca, Oct

6-3, 6-4 v A Bogdan (106),

Cluj-Napoca, Oct

6-2, 6-1 v M Kostyuk (55),

Cluj-Napoca, Oct

6-1, 6-7, 7-5 v Xin Yu Wang

(106), Linz, Nov

6-0, 6-1 v E Rybakina (13),

Sydney, Jan

6-0, 2-6, 6-1 v S Stephens

(67), Australian Open, Jan

6-4, 4-6, 6-3 v D Kovinic (98),

Australian Open, Jan

5-7, 7-6, 4-3 ret v D Saville (610),

Guadalajara, Feb

6-1, 3-6, 6-1 v C Garcia (66),

Indian Wells, March

6-7, 6-4, 7-5 v P Martic (79),

Indian Wells, March

3-6, 6-4, 7-5 v K Siniakova (53),

Miami, March

7-5, 7-5 v T Martincova (50),

BJK Cup, April

6-1, 6-1 v M Vondrousova (32),

BJK Cup, April

6-1, 6-2 v S Sanders (197),

Stuttgart, April

6-0, 2-6, 6-1 v T Korpatsch

(118), Stuttgart, April

6-4, 6-4 v I Swiatek (1),

Stuttgart, April

7-6, 6-0 v T Martincova

(49), Madrid, April

6-2, 6-1 v M Kostyuk (60),

Madrid, May

organisers to award him a main-

draw wild card by seeing off Lorenzo

Sonego, the world No 27 from Italy,

6-4, 6-3.

Draper has built up a head of steam

this year, with 25 wins in 29 matches,

most of them on the second-tier ATP

Challenger circuit. At No 124 in the

world rankings, he is edging towards

the top 100 and is on the verge of gain-

ing direct entry for Wimbledon with

the absence of players from Russia and

Belarus this summer.

“I think after today I’ll be pretty

close,” Draper said. “I actually said to

Tim [Henman] last year that I want to

be able to get into Wimbledon without

a wild card. It definitely was one of my

big goals this year, so hopefully I can

do it.”

Draper already carries himself with

confidence in this high-level setting on

the court. Yesterday he was firing down

serves at speeds of up to 138mph to

claim the second-best win of his career,

behind his victory over Jannik Sinner at

last year’s Queen’s Club Champion-

ships. However, it is taking him some

time to become accustomed to being in

the company of the world’s best players

in the locker room.

“It’s a bit weird walking round the

tournament having been to a lot of

Challengers,” Draper said. “Here you

are having a double take at Rafa

[Nadal]. I feel like the more I play, the

more like I belong. But I do sort of have

this mindset where if I have a wild card,

I know I’m just passing through

because you still can’t get used to

this. I’m still outside and not here on

merit.”

Tomorrow, Draper will face a top-ten

player for only the second time. He took

it to Novak Djokovic last year on

Centre Court, claiming the first set of

their first-round match at Wimbledon

before losing in four. More of the same

is expected against the world No 8,

Andrey Rublev.

“I just think I’ve got to go into it with

no fear,” Draper said. “It is a good

opportunity for me. I’ll definitely be

fighting for every ball. I’ve got to

use confidence from today. He

hasn’t had a match here [Rublev

was awarded a first-round bye]

and it’s a bit different. The

conditions are definitely

tough for any player to

deal with.”

Evans, 31, joined

Draper in the second

round by picking up

only his second win

in eight matches.

The world No 35

comfortably saw off

Argentina’s Federico

Delbonis 6-3, 6-4

and will play Roberto

Bautista Agut or

Jenson Brooksby next.

Andy Murray and

Cameron Norrie will

bid to complete a

clean sweep for the

Britons today when

they open their cam-

paigns against Dominic

Thiem and Kwon Soon-

woo respectively.

Stuart Fraser

Tennis

Correspondent,

Madrid

Emma Raducanu (GB) 66

Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) 21

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