World No. 11 Emma Raducanu revealed she wasn’t giving herself much of a chance to beat Anhelina Kalinina as she was hampered by a back injury and a few other issues. On Tuesday, No. 9 seed Raducanu exited Madrid after she was handed a 6-2 2-6 6-4 loss by Kalinina in the round-of-16.
Raducanu easily lost the first set but broke Kalinina three times in the second set to force a decider. In the third set, Raducanu recovered from an early break down but lost her serve once again in the ninth game as Kalinina served out for the match in the 10th game.
“I would have given myself a five percent chance of winning that match, and for it to almost happen, I think that was a positive thing,” Raducanu said, as quoted on Tennis365. “I was kind of struggling a bit with my back, to be honest.
Throughout the week I have been carrying some niggles, and it’s kind of just taking its toll, all of the matches at this kind of level. “I think that’s a good thing that I feel like I’m going through this and my body is building with each match I play”.
Raducanu could skip Rome
Next on Raducanu’s schedule is Rome, which starts on May. Raducanu, who has no previous Rome appearances, will take some think before she decides whether or not to play in the Italian capital.
“I’m not sure what I will do yet, whether I will go home yet or straight to Rome. The plan right now is to still go to Rome,” Raducanu said. “I’m not sure when I start. Maybe Monday or Tuesday. I hope it’s enough time because it would be a real shame to miss it.
“I’m feeling pretty positive. A lot of the time with me it’s just overload and then two or three days’ complete rest and I’m OK to start training again”.
