Emma Raducanu looked distinctly glum walking off court after a quarter-final defeat to Jessica Pegula, but when she gets back to London and reflects, she will realise there are many reasons to be cheerful.
There is no shame in having been beaten 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 by world No 4 Pegula, a model of consistency on this surface. She won a title in Austin last month, and has now won 19 matches on hard courts already this year. Before Miami, Raducanu had won just three.
But Raducanu’s melancholy was probably informed by the fact that she had dragged herself back from the brink of defeat and heat stroke – she needed a medical check in the second set – to force a decider.
That in itself is to be celebrated, since physical resilience has not been a hallmark of Raducanu’s career so far.
An accelerated apprenticeship in the professional game laid shaky foundations for an injury-ravaged four years, a string of mid-match retirements and regular precautionary tournament withdrawals, as well as three surgeries and months spent on the sidelines.
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So to win four matches and complete five at a tournament for the first time since the US Open 2021 triumph is a positive.
The last was played over nearly two-and-a-half hours, a match that ran so late it pushed Novak Djokovic onto Thursday’s running order. Runners talk about getting “miles in the legs”, and Raducanu has finally managed to do that.
“The tennis has always been there, but for me the movement in and out of the corners when she’s been on defence [in Miami] has been so impressive,” Sky Sports pundit and former world No 4 Tim Henman said.
“The way she strung together these match wins is going to give her huge confidence.”
It should stand her in good stead for the summer months too, first on clay and then on grass, the surface where she is probably at her best, and at Wimbledon, because Raducanu did not get the solid block of work every player craves in pre-season, hindered by a persistent back problem and her coach’s illness.
The heat of Miami was often the preferred pre-season training base of Andy Murray and in some ways, Raducanu has done that same kind of work over the last two weeks.
The Brit has picked up valuable points in Florida too. She secured only the third top-10 win of her career when she beat Emma Navarro and for the first time in more than two years, she will be back in the top 50 on Monday. And rankings aside, she is playing tennis of which we have only seen glimpses in that time.
Raducanu can take heart from her performances in Miami (Photo: Getty)“It was just nice to have that feeling of playing pretty well again, I think that’s been missing,” said Raducanu after defeat to Pegula.
“And also just fighting and competitive spirit, that’s something I drew out of myself this week and it was refreshing and nice to have that feeling on the court again.”
A seeded spot at Wimbledon, which would afford her a kinder draw in the opening rounds, is not an unrealistic target for the next three months.
She only played two points-earning tournaments on clay last year (Great Britain duty does not incur ranking points) and only won two matches before another injury forced her out for six more weeks.
It means that any successes on the red dirt this year will be virtually all net gains, because there are not many points to fall off her record on the 12-month rolling basis.
As well as the French Open at Roland Garros, Madrid and Rome host WTA 1000 events in the next two months, fertile ground to boost her ranking from 48 to 32, where she needs to reach to be seeded at Wimbledon.
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She will also hope to find a regular coach over those months, having lost Nick Cavaday in January and ended her trial with Vlado Platenik after just 14 days.
Mark Petchey, former British No 1, has been filling in during the Miami Open, someone she has known a long time – he is often credited with having done formative work on her forehand – and he has been a highly engaged presence on the practice court and in the stands during matches.
But he has broadcast commitments to fulfil as well and Raducanu is believed to want someone who can be with her every step of the way on tour.
But the 22-year-old says she has learned a lot about who she wants beside her during the last few weeks.
“When I play my best I am definitely authentic, true to myself and creative. I feel when I am boxed into a regimented way then I am not able to express myself in the same way,” Raducanu said.
“So I’m happy with how I realised that this week.”
Raducanu will play next in The Hague, where Great Britain take on Germany and the Netherlands in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier before travelling to France for a 250 event in Rouen, and then the Madrid Open.
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