Emma Raducanu’s time at Indian Wells came to an end on Sunday as she was defeated 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5 by Petra Martic of Croatia in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. Raducanu played at a solid level and fought back from a third-set deficit before she failed to serve out the match, eventually losing after two hours, 28 minutes.
Raducanu, the 19-year-old US Open champion, was soon followed out of the tournament by Andy Murray, who lost 7-6 (9), 6-3 in his second-round clash with the 31st seed, Alexander Bublik.
For Raducanu, the challenge was an unorthodox former top-15 opponent with immense variety. After playing an excellent tiebreak to take the first set, Raducanu’s level dipped and Martic, 31, pounced, taking the set and a 2-0 third set lead. However, Raducanu recovered and then broke again to serve for the match at 5-4. She stood two points from victory three times before losing her serve and the final three games of match.
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Despite the frustrating result, Raducanu was not even certain of competing in Indian Wells at the start of the week as she recovered from a leg injury sustained last month. She said on Friday that, shortly after her injury, she had been told that the required recovery period ruled her out of Indian Wells. After a season so far defined by numerous ailments, she will now have the chance to train freely for 10 days before the Miami Open begins.
Shortly after Raducanu’s defeat, Murray generated three set points, and two on his serve, in a thrilling tiebreak against his Russian opponent 10 years his junior but he could not close the set out. After trailing by an early break in the second set, Murray faded and was unable to recover from the deficit.