Emma Raducanu struggled with a stomach bug during a marathon second-round loss to Wang Yafan at the Australian Open.
The former US Open champion, playing only her fourth match since returning from eight months out and three surgeries, had battled back strongly from a set and a break down to force a decider.
But Raducanu then began to show a lot of discomfort, clutching at her chest and abdomen before calling the trainer two games in.
She had her blood pressure checked and took some pills before resuming, and she battled hard to try to turn the match around but Wang held firm to win 6-4 4-6 6-4 after two hours and 55 minutes.
It appeared Raducanu was struggling with her breathing but she revealed in her press conference that she was feeling sick having gone into the contest under the weather.
“I think I just had a bit of a stomach bug beforehand,” she said. “Now I feel a little bit better. I had some time.
“During the match, third set I was 30-0 up serving. Then all of a sudden I just felt so sick, just really weak and nauseous. Throughout the third set I think everyone could see it was a bit of a battle.
“Like physically, body-wise, I felt fine. It was more I was throwing up in my mouth. Then after the match, it came out. Now I’m OK. I’ll get over it. It just sucks with the timing.
“I was actually feeling good about my tennis. Mentally, I don’t know why, I just felt really composed the entire time. Even in the first set when I was making a ton of errors with the wind, I kind of always had this feeling that I was coming back, just tidy up the errors. I felt pretty composed throughout.”
Raducanu is no stranger to medical time-outs and retirements but she was determined to keep going this time.
“I’ve been in that situation before in matches, whether it was with illness or injury, and retired a few times,” she said.
“With what I went through last year, you feel awful right now, at some points I couldn’t really see the ball very well, but I think it’s made me so much tougher. There was no way I was going to pull out. She was going to have to beat me, and she did. She served it out.”
Raducanu’s exit followed those of Katie Boulter and Jack Draper and means Cameron Norrie, who battled from two sets down earlier to beat Giulio Zeppieri, is the only British player through to the third round.
Raducanu comfortably won her first-round match against Shelby Rogers, but the American looked very rusty after a long break herself which made it difficult to gauge the 21-year-old’s true level.
This was a much bigger test, with Wang a former top-50 player now ranked 94 who is still working her way back up the game after choosing not to travel amid China’s restrictive Covid policies.
The 29-year-old’s game initially held up better than Raducanu’s in the breezy conditions and she looked in control at one set and 2-0 up, at which point the British player cut down her errors and fought her way back into the contest.
She broke to lead 5-3 with a sizzling cross-court winner but tentativeness crept in as she tried to serve out the set, with two chances going begging.
Raducanu did not let the disappointment affect her, though, and refused to be hesitant when more chances arrived on Wang’s serve, drilling a backhand winner to clinch a mammoth 65-minute set.
At that stage it appeared Raducanu was the favourite but her physical issues quickly became apparent and she was unable to turn the match back around in her favour.
She leaves Australia greatly encouraged for what is to come, though, saying: “There were doubts whether I would be able to make the Australian Open trip.
“I think that to be here is a bonus, a good starting point I would say, because I started putting good practice sessions together with (coach) Nick (Cavaday), we’re doing good work off the court.
“I’m feeling very positive. I really just want to play a full season. The encouraging thing is, even though I played two back-to-back three-setters in Auckland, a three-setter today, body-wise, strength-wise, I didn’t come up with any random niggles.
“It was just me throwing up. That’s fine. That’s not normal, but it’s like a one-off.”
Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge
Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to his second Italian Open title with a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, overcoming an injury scare en route to the last four.
Zverev – who triumphed on the clay in Rome back in 2017 – produced a dominant serving performance against another heavy hitter in Fritz, but only after an awkward fall early on.
The German sought medical attention after falling on his stomach in the third service game of the match, the slip leaving him bleeding from both hands.
However, he soon shook off that knock and did not allow Fritz a single break point in a deeply impressive display, setting up a semi-final meeting with Chile's Alejandro Tabilo – the conqueror of Novak Djokovic – for Friday.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Zverev, the lone former champion remaining in the men's draw, is surely the favourite to win a tournament characterised by unfortunate withdrawals and shock defeats for the biggest names.
Seven of Zverev's 21 tour-level titles have come on clay, and he is yet to drop a single set in Rome this year. His three-year wait for an ATP 1000 title could soon be over.
Sabalenka overcomes injury concerns to reach Rome semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka is through to her second Italian Open semi-final after a straight-sets victory over Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday.
The Belarusian, who recovered from a lower back injury sustained in her previous match against Elina Svitolina, breezed through 6-2, 6-4 after just 72 minutes on the court.
Sabalenka broke her serve in the third and fifth games, with Ostapenko opening the door with two double faults, while a single break in the seventh game settled the second set.
The second seed almost let it slip with her only double fault but came back with two big serves to close out the win.
Sabalenka will face Danielle Collins or Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final on Friday.
Data Debrief: Top 10
Sabalenka (10) has become only the second player to reach 10 or more WTA-1000 semi-finals since the start of the 2020 season, along with Iga Swiatek (16).
With Sabalenka joining Swiatek and Coco Gauff, it is the first time the WTA’s top three players have reached the semi-final at the same WTA event since Roland Garros in 2013 – excluding the WTA Tour Finals.
Sabalenka has spent the most time out on the court in WTA clay events in 2024, with this match bringing her up to 25 hours and 34 minutes.
Gauff sets up Swiatek semi-final meeting after downing Zheng in Rome
Coco Gauff will have the chance to down world number one Iga Swiatek after progressing to the Italian Open semi-finals with Tuesday's victory over Qinwen Zheng.
The 20-year-old breezed into the last-four draw in Rome after her straight-sets victory over Zheng, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.
Gauff faced just one break point throughout the match, failing to hold her serve at 5-3 up as seven-seed Zhen battled back in the first set.
Yet Gauff eased through the tie-break and never looked back from there on, teeing up a meeting with Swiatek, who overcame Madison Keys in straight sets in her quarter-final clash.
Data Debrief: Young Gauff powers on
No player has won more matches than Gauff (61) in WTA-1000 events before turning 21, since the introduction of the format in 2009, as the American moved past Caroline Wozniacki (60) with victory here.
Wozniacki (eight) is also the only player to manage more WTA-1000 semi-final appearances before her 21th birthday, with Gauff's last-four qualification here taking her onto six – one ahead of Swiatek.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
