Emma Raducanu has admitted she feared “bad blood” after pulling out of the mixed doubles match with Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
The Scot was ruled out of the All England club final last summer when Radukanu pulled out ahead of their first-round clash citing a sore wrist.
Murray was known to be extremely frustrated and the fury overshadowed Radukanu’s run to the fourth round in singles, his best at a Grand Slam since winning the US Open.
So the 22-year-old was especially happy that Murray congratulated her afterwards Australian Open second round win over Amanda Anisimova on Thursdaywhich made a clash with Iga Sviatek.
“Then I sent him a long message, basically apologizing if I caused any trouble, I guess at Wimbledon, that’s definitely the last thing I want,” Raducanu said.
“He’s someone I grew up with and I don’t want any bad blood or hard feelings with him. I sent him a long message and he took it very well and said he was disappointed but understood.
“Now we’re good. We’re passing each other and saying ‘hi’, ‘well done’. It’s obviously great to see him with Novak (Djokovic) here too.”
While Murray’s focus is now off the court as he helps Novak Djokovic try to win more Grand Slam titles, Raducanu is determined not to let any outside negative influence affect him.
She has had to get used to the hype since her New York breakthrough, and she said in her press conference after her 6-3 7-5 win over Anisimova: “I think this year I’m just getting closer to it. complete in the sense of just having good people around me, having a positive outlook.
“Anything that doesn’t necessarily serve me, I’m pretty wild about prioritizing and focusing on. I don’t have time for that. I just don’t want to.” : kind of let that in.”
It was another strong display from Radukanu, who showed shrewdness to blunt the powerful weapon of Anisimova, one of her close friends on tour.
However, there were concerns about the condition of Radukanu’s back when the British No.2 called the trainer after experiencing discomfort in the second set.
His preparations for the new season were hampered by back spasms, which forced him to withdraw from a tournament in Auckland earlier this month.
Radukanu hopes that he did not aggravate the problem, saying. “I haven’t fully studied it yet.
“I think it’s almost to be expected when you haven’t played a game for so long, and then to have two really physical games here and there. I just hope it does.”
“I was able to get through some soreness today, but I’m just going to try and recover as best I can the next day.”
It’s Raducanu’s first time in the third round in Melbourne and he nodded his head after a few key points to show his mental strength.
“If Katie Boulter saw it, she might have a word,” Raducanu said with a smile. “I think she’s the OG of that one, so I’m sure she doesn’t mind maybe to use it in the clutch. But I was just coming out too hard.”
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