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Emma Raducanu suffered an injury scare before the French Open as she went out of the Strasbourg Open.
The 22-year-old left the court during the second set of her second-round match with American Danielle Collins for treatment on a back problem, though appeared to recover. Having won the first set, Raducanu was 5-0 down when she called a medical timeout before returning to the court 10 minutes later. Although she was able to finish the match, she lost 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to Collins.
With the French Open starting on Sunday, Raducanu will now have the problem fully assessed before travelling to Paris, though the way she competed hard in a tight third set could suggest it was not too serious. She took a wildcard in eastern France to enter the final warm-up tournament for Roland Garros – not something she has usually done in the buildup to a grand slam.
The British No 2, who is chasing Katie Boulter as the highest-ranked Briton, started off well by winning the first set against the world No 46. But her level immediately dropped and after walking through the fifth game, where she went 5-0 down, she left the court for lengthy treatment.
Collins quickly wrapped up the second set and there was a fear she could also run away with the decider. But to her credit, Raducanu fought hard and was primed to take a 3-1 lead but could not convert four break points. It was tightly poised at 3-3 after an exchange of breaks, but Collins put her foot down to win the final three games as Raducanu fell away.
Raducanu has added an extra tournament to her grass-court schedule after taking a wildcard into the Berlin Tennis Open. The former US Open champion will begin her campaign on the surface at the new WTA event at Queen’s Club next month before heading to the German capital for the tournament from 16-22 June.
That means Raducanu will not be joining Boulter at the Nottingham Open, which takes place the same week. The Berlin tournament is a higher tier of the WTA Tour and therefore offers more ranking points and prize money. Raducanu will face fierce competition in Germany, with a stacked field led by world No 1, Aryna Sabalenka, and featuring nine of the top 10. Naomi Osaka, the four-time grand slam champion, has also been given a wildcard.
Novak Djokovic, who is seeking his 100th career title on the ATP Tour, finally won a match on clay this season, beating Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 6-3 in the second round at the rainy Geneva Open.
“My first win this season on clay obviously, it’s great to break the ice in a way. It’s a very demanding surface,” Djokovic said afterwards.
He faced no break-point chances, landed 73% of his first serves and clinched with a backhand winner on his second match-point.
“It helps if you have a good serve and today I think that was my strongest shot,” Djokovic stated.
Djokovic lost his two previous matches on clay and his next opponent at the last warmup event for the French Open is one of those players who already beat him as he is scheduled to play Matteo Arnaldi who earlier advanced past Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-6 (3). Arnaldi beat Djokovic in two sets at the Madrid Masters.
