Raducanu keeps Miami run going after advancing past ailing Kessler

MIAMI — Don’t look now, but Emma Raducanu is starting to feel it.

Backing up her big win over No. 8 seed Emma Navarro, Raducanu advanced to the round of 16 at the Miami Open on Sunday night with a 6-1, 3-0, ret. win over McCartney Kessler. The abbreviated match ended at the 43-minute mark.

It’s the first time the pride of Great Britain has won three consecutive matches since last summer’s tournament at Wimbledon.

Raducanu described the thrilling three-set victory over Navarro as, in some ways, more emotional than winning the 2021 US Open as a teenager.

That’s because for more than three and one-half years, a daunting series of injuries haven’t allowed her to come close to approaching the form that lifted her to 10 straight match wins in New York — all in straight sets.

“It has been quite emotional and it’s taken a lot out of me,” the 22-year-old Raducanu said on Friday after beating Navarro. “But I’m just so happy to be fighting here, and all the wins here just give me extra fuel, extra energy.”

That energy fueled a definitive win against Kessler, a rising American with a title this year in Hobart. Raducanu broke her serve all four times and won 29 of 43 first-set points. For the match, the final total was 41 of 58.

Raducanu plays the winner of the ongoing match between No. 11 seed Mirra Andreeva and No. 17 Amanda Anisimova — winners of the past three WTA 1000 events — in a round-of-16 match on Monday. A win by Raducanu would surpass her career best result in a WTA 1000, after reaching that stage four times now.

“I don’t think it’s been an easy couple of months,” Raducanu said. “I have had a lot going on on and off the court. I think my goal is to just get to a place where I feel a lot more set and stable with my surroundings.

“This week I have amazing people who have known me for a very long time. I feel very secure and happy and wanting to fight for them, as well. It’s a really nice feeling.”

More to come…