Miami Open 2025: Emma Raducanu defeats world No.10 Emma Navarro to reach third round
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Emma Raducanu has secured her biggest win of the year so far as she took down one of the WTA tour’s in-form players, Emma Navarro to reach the third round at the Miami Open.
Raducanu stormed through her opening round match against Japanese wild card Sakaya Ishii to set up a blockbuster second round meeting again eighth seeded Navarro.
Prior to the match, Raducanu was yet to earn a top 10 victory on any surface other than grass, but dug deep to eventually beat the American 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(3) in an intense battle lasting just under three hours.
“I really have no idea (how I won that match),” Raducanu said in her on-court interview. “I don’t know what happened to be honest - it was a match filled with ups and downs, shifts and momentum.
“Emma (Navarro) is an incredibly tough opponent, she’s top 10, she makes so many balls, it was so physical, and it was difficult conditions so credit to her - it was an unbelievable match. We were both fighting so hard and the atmosphere was great.”
The former US Open champion now sets up a third round clash against either Czech rising star Linda Noskova or American McCartney Kessler.
It was a promising start for Raducanu who came out firing against the 2024 US Open semi-finalist. After the pair exchanged some mid-set breaks, we headed towards a tie-break which saw Raducanu fend off two set points before stealing the opening to edge her nose infront.
However, the British No.2 soon began to suffer with blisters and struggled to maintain her aggressive style of play early in the second set, as the world No.10 took advantage to level the match to a set apiece.
Heading into the deciding set, the momentum was swinging firmly in the direction of Navarro, who sprinted ahead to a 3-1 lead. However, an inspired Raducanu soon sparked alive as she went on to win four games on the bounce, but despite the resurgence, she was unable to serve out the match on her first two attempts.
In an exceptional display of grit and determination, the 2021 US Open champion dominated a tense deciding tie-break before closing out her third top 10 win of her career and first on a hard court with a crushing forehand cross court winner to secure her spot in the third round in Miami.
How to watch the Miami Open
You can watch Emma Raducanu's third round match at the Miami Open live exclusively on Sky Sports and via NOW TV.
