Emma Raducanu has suffered a one-sided defeat to Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-1 in her second match of the Great Britain and Czech Republic Billie Jean King Cup qualifier tie. It puts Britain at risk as the Czechs take a 2-1 points lead. The 19-year-old was wincing in pain throughout the match and forced to take a medical time out as former BJK Cup squad member Naomi Broady speculated that she was suffering with more blistering after crashing out of the Australian Open with severe blisters at the start of the year.
Raducanu was back in action for day two of Great Britain’s tie against the Czech Republic after clinching a crucial point for her team on Friday with a 7-5 7-5 win over Tereza Martincova. It was a slower start for the 19-year-old in just her second-ever professional match on a clay court as she quickly went 0-3 down and Vondrousova took a double-break lead in the chilly Prague conditions.
The world No 12 managed to get herself on the board as she broke to narrow the gap at 1-3 but the former French Open finalist then won three games on the bounce to close out the first set 6-1 in 26 minutes. Raducanu then left the court for a medical time out before emerging for the second set which appeared to pay off as the Brit as she managed to set up two break points on Vondrousova’s serve but the world No 32 held on to win a fourth consecutive game.
It looked to be all Vondrousova as she broke Raducanu once more but the Czech then threw in three double faults to gift the break-back to the injury-stricken teenager, who looked to be limping around the court and failing to get to balls. With both players now looking flat, the 22-year-old managed to get another break as Raducanu sent a ball wide, wincing in pain during the rallies.
JUST IN: Djokovic ‘isn’t a machine’ and has five things to ‘recover from’
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
