In her round-of-32 encounter against Croatia’s Petra Martic, British No. 1 Emma Raducanu won the first set in a tiebreak and held serve for the match until losing 7-6 4-6 5-7; Harriet Dart is on track to enter the top 100 for the first time after defeating Kaia Kanepi. After falling to Petra Martic of Croatia in three sets in the round of 32, Emma Raducanu was eliminated from the Indian Wells tournament.
After winning the first set on a tiebreak, 7-3, the British No. 1, who was taking part in the competition for the first time, seemed to be headed for the round of 16.
Martic came back in the second set, winning it 6-4 to tie the score, and at the beginning of the deciding, she broke her opponent’s service. After appearing to regain composure and serving for the match at 5-4, the 11th seed’s demise was sealed by the Croatian, who won three straight games.
The match’s third game saw Raducanu suffer her first serve break, but she bounced back to equal the score at 3-3 and win the tiebreak. When she broke Martic’s serve early in the second set, it appeared as though it would give the US Open winner the chance to take charge.
But after losing two straight service games, the match appeared to be returning to the Croatian’s advantage when she regained the lead early in the third. Nevertheless, Martic was unable to hold onto that lead, and Raducanu’s break to make it 5-4 gave her the chance to serve for the match.
However, the chance was lost, as Martic went on to take the first of two match points on her foe’s serve, clinching a 7-5 set triumph and setting up a meeting with world No. 28 Liudmila Samsonova in the following round.
Dart cracks top 100 for first time
After defeating Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in straight sets to go through the third round at Indian Wells, Harriet Dart is on track to enter the top 100 for the first time in her career. The qualifier advanced 7-6 6-3 after defeating world No. 18 Elina Svitolina to face Madison Keys, the No. 25 seed from the United States, in the round of 16.
She is now expected to move up the global rankings from No. 122 to No. 99, however that ranking might yet increase further if she succeeds in the competition.
The British athlete commented after her most recent victory, “My ranking might not represent where my level is, but I’ve always thought my level has been there. I never have anything to lose, especially at occasions like these. Being able to play another game in this great location is kind of a plus. It’s quite strange. Every second of it is enjoyable for me.”
Keys lauded her future adversary as she prepared for the best Dart given her current performance. At this time, Keys claimed, “She’s won practically a tournament’s worth of matches.” “She’s going to be quite assured, in my opinion. No pressure, just doing all she can to win.
“She’s a tremendously good player, in my opinion. She is an excellent ball striker. She is nimble. This court seems to be a good fit for her style of play. Fortunately, I sent my coach to observe her game today so he could provide