Emma Raducanu produced a calm, consistent performance to reach the second round of the Miami Open for the first time with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against the Japanese wildcard Sayaka Ishii, to set up a meeting with Emma Navarro, the eighth seed.
“I was just so focused on every point and trying to compete,” Raducanu said. “That was my main objective today, just trying my best every point and bringing some energy, bringing some competitiveness. I think that’s maybe been missing in the past couple of months. I’m really proud of that. It’s just nice to win in two sets and less than two and a half hours.”
Alongside Raducanu’s win came the revelation that she has already parted ways with Vladimir Platenik two weeks into their coaching trial.
Raducanu has had to find a new coach since Nick Cavaday departed her team after the Australian Open because of health issues. She had been on a trial run with Platenik since he arrived at Indian Wells in time to watch her first‑round defeat against Moyuka Uchijima.
The pair had been working together since her Indian Wells defeat, meaning his absence from her player box on Wednesday came as a surprise. She was instead supported by the LTA coach Colin Beecher and Jane O’Donoghue, a former player and family friend who has helped Raducanu out from time to time over the past three and a half years, alongside her fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura. After the match, a member of Raducanu’s team confirmed they had opted to part ways.
Although their agreement was only a trial, Platenik had indicated in an interview in his home country with the Slovak newspaper Dennik N that they had planned to trial their partnership until the French Open. Instead, Raducanu will continue her search for a coach.
On the court, Raducanu had a kind opening-round draw against a former top-five junior player who is still attempting to make the transition to the professional circuit and who remains quite far from competing regularly at the highest level. Ishii trains at the IMG Academy and received a wildcard in Miami; IMG owns the tournament.
Ishii showed early glimpses of her potential, particularly her weighty forehand, lasering flashy winners as she retrieved a break and levelled Raducanu at 2-2. That purple patch did not last very long and her uncompromising aggressive approach led to a stream of unforced errors.
To her credit Raducanu laid down a professional, steady performance that made clear the gulf in quality between the two players. All wins are valuable, particularly for a player in poor form. In recent weeks the world No 60 has endured one of the toughest periods of her career in terms of results, losing five of her previous six matches. There have been obvious mitigating circumstances behind her form, particularly her well-publicised encounters with a stalker who followed her from tournament to tournament in Asia throughout February.
While Raducanu’s preparation for Indian Wells was stunted because of the ordeal, she has since had two weeks to train, reestablish her routines and attempt to look ahead. With a solid display and much-needed win under her belt, the 22-year-old Briton will gain better insight into her level on Friday as she faces a top player in Navarro.
Later on Wednesday, the British No 1 Katie Boulter continued to struggle on her return from a foot injury as she lost 6-4, 6-2 against the talented American Peyton Stearns.
