Emma Raducanu battled blisters on her playing hand before going down 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 to Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Also out on a day of shocks was former world No 1 Andy Murray, losing to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel in straight sets.
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Raducanu needed treatment on her right hand after racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set.
Lovely to meet you @EmmaRaducanu 💙
We look forward to hanging out again soon.#AusOpen • #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/ralqWz03nv
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2022
The 19-year-old, who had burst into the spotlight by winning the 2021 US Open, displayed a lot of resilience to win the second set and take the match into the decider.
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“It was a really nice experience to play Emma here and make the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time after many years,” said World No 98 Kovinic.
Milestone unlocked 🔓
🇲🇪 @DankaKovinic gets the win of her career!#AO2022pic.twitter.com/vY2RE4jQ9Y
— wta (@WTA) January 20, 2022
“Emma has had amazing results, winning a Grand Slam at such a young age. She is an amazing talent. I’m just so happy I could play such a high level.
“I was a little bit low in my energy through the third set so I tried to focus on myself, not show much emotion and save my energy.”
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Kovinic entered the round of 32 of a major for the first time.
Murray’s run ends
There was to be no fairytale run for Britain’s three-time major champion Murray, going down 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to 120th-ranked Daniel, who moves into the third round of a Slam for the first time.
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The 34-year-old Murray, who had career-saving hip surgery in 2019 and thought that he may never return to the Australian Open, appeared weary after emerging from a five-set epic in the first round.
Day of upsets
Women’s third seed Garbine Muguruza and sixth seed Anett Kontaveit also fell on Day 4 of Australian Open.
WTA Finals winner Muguruza is also out, losing 6-3, 6-3 to 61st-ranked veteran Alize Cornet.
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“I am a bit of a dinosaur on the tour,” said Cornet, who turns 32 on Saturday.
Kontaveit, seen by many as a serious title contender after a breakout 2021, committed 27 unforced errors as she was stunned 6-2, 6-4 by fast-rising Danish teenager Clara Tauson.
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Australian wildcard Chris O’Connell pulled off an upset with a straight-sets win over 13th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.
Key results
Men’s singles:
2-Daniil Medvedev bt Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
32-Alex De Minaur bt Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
Taro Daniel bt Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
11-Jannik Sinner bt Steve Johnson 6-2, 6-4, 6-3
20-Taylor Fritz bt Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Benoit Paire bt 26-Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2)
4-Stefanos Tsitsipas bt Sebastian Baez 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4
5-Andrey Rublev bt Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-2, 6-0
27-Marin Cilic bt Norbert Gombos 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
9-Felix Auger-Aliassime bt Alejandro Davidovich 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4)
Christopher O’Connell bt 13-Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4
Women’s singles
Clara Tauson bt 6-Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-4
14-Simona Halep bt Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 6-0
Danka Kovinic bt 17-Emma Raducanu 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Alize Cornet bt 3-Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-3
7-Iga Swiatek bt Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-2
10-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bt Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-2
2-Aryna Sabalenka bt Wang Xinyu 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
