Raducanu finds ‘competitive spirit’ to reach last eight

After defeating 17th seed Amanda Anismova in Miami, Emma Raducanu claims to have made it to the WTA 1 000 quarter-finals.

The Briton won 6-1, 6 (6), and won the match flawlessly in just 24 minutes against her American foe.

For the first time since her 2021 US Open triumph, Raducanu has won four WTA main-draw games consecutively, dominating Anisimova over.

“Just finding the competitive spirit, being there for every ball, and drawing that out of myself is the biggest thing I’m proud of,” Raducanu said.

“I believe that has kind of been missing over the past few months and even a few years.”

Prior to this tournament, Raducanu had lost five of her previous six matches since winning the Australian Open, and last week, she abruptly cut her relationship with coach Vladimir Platenik.

“I have some really good people around me who I can count on and who I enjoy hanging out with off the court this week.” That is very crucial.

When I perform at my best, I always feel authentic, real, and creative. When I’m forced into a regimented mindset, I start to feel like I can’t express myself in the same way. So I’m happy that I learned that this week.

On her own serve, Raducanu broke in the match’s opening set and fought through the opening set without losing a point.

However, her return surprised me the most, as she kept pushing the Anisimova serve.

As the first set progressed, the American became more and more enraged, appearing to be struggling with a right wrist problem.

She significantly improved after the medical timeout in the second set, but she was unable to stop Raducanu from falling behind 3-1.

Anisimova broke straight back, but Raducanu once more showed resilience by breaking once more before being confidently suspended for the match.

The British number two said, “I’m walking on the court knowing that I’m going to be there for every point, every ball.”

That has so far really worked. I also believe that as I try to let my creativity shine, I’m trying to do that because I believe that’s when I play my best tennis on the court right now, which is probably a good thing.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s number one, defeated defending champion Danielle Collins of the USA 6-4, 6-4, to reach the quarter-finals.

The Belarusian won the first set at 3-3 after breaking in the opening match of the second set, which he did in an hour and 19 minutes.

Jasmine Paolini, an Italian, defeated Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, 33-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Iga Swiatek, the second-ranked player, set up a meeting with 19-year-old wildcard Alexandra Eala from the Philippines, who will be competing in her first WTA quarter-final, beating Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

After Paula Badosa, Eala’s fourth-round opponent, withdrew because of a lower back injury, Eala continued her eye-catching run in Miami.

Coco Gauff, the third world number three, was let down by Poland’s Magda Linette, who had won by 6-4, 6-4.

Alexander Zverev defeated Jordan Thompson of Australia 7-5, 6-4, in the men’s singles.

The German, who defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (13-2), 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, and 7-6, secured a fourth-round tie against France’s Arthur Fils, who defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (13-2), 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-7, 7-6, 7-7, 7-6,

Taylor Fritz also advanced, defeating Denis Shapovalov of Canada, 7-5, 6-3, but Francisco Cerundolo, a native of Argentina, sent him 6-2, 7-6, 6-3.