Emma Raducanu feared ‘bad blood’ with Andy Murray after Wimbledon row

Emma Raducanu admitted she feared “bad blood” with Andy Murray after her Wimbledon mixed doubles withdrawal.

The Scot was denied a final match at the All England Club last summer when Raducanu pulled out ahead of their first-round contest citing soreness in her wrist.

Murray was known to be hugely disappointed and the furore overshadowed Raducanu’s run to the fourth round of the singles, her best at a grand slam since her US Open victory.

So the 22-year-old was particularly happy to be congratulated by Murray after her second-round win at the Australian Open against Amanda Anisimova on Thursday, which set up a clash with Iga Swiatek.

“Afterwards I sent him a long message basically apologising if I caused any trouble, I guess, at Wimbledon, that’s definitely the last thing I want,” Raducanu told the PA news agency.

“He’s someone that I’ve grown up looking up to and I don’t want any bad blood or harsh feelings with him. I sent him a long message and he took it really well and responded saying he was disappointed but he understood.

“We’re fine now. We walk past each other and say, ‘hello’, ‘well done’. It’s obviously really cool seeing him with Novak (Djokovic) here as well.”

While Murray’s focus is now off court as he helps Djokovic try to win more grand slam titles, Raducanu is determined not to allow any outside negativity to affect her.

She has had to become used to a lot of noise swirling around since her New York breakthrough, and she said at her press conference after a 6-3 7-5 win over Anisimova: “I think this year I’m just approaching it quite holistically in the sense of just having good people around me, having a positive outlook.

“Anything that’s not necessarily serving me, I’m pretty savage in terms of just prioritising myself and focusing. Anything that wants to try and affect that, I don’t have time for it. No hate. I just don’t want to kind of let that in.”

This was another strong display from Raducanu, who showed intelligence to blunt the powerful weaponry of Anisimova, one of her closer friends on tour.

There were concerns, though, over the condition of Raducanu’s back, with the British number two calling the trainer early in the second set after feeling discomfort.

Her preparations for the new season were disrupted by a back spasm that prompted her to withdraw from a tournament in Auckland earlier this month.

Raducanu is hopeful she has not aggravated the problem, saying: “I haven’t fully investigated it yet.

“I think it’s almost to be expected when you haven’t played a match in so long, and then to have two really physical ones. I think small niggles are going to come up here and there. I’m just hoping that it is that.

“I was able to push past some pain today but I’m going to just try and recover as best as possible over the next day.”

Raducanu’s serve, which yielded 15 double faults against Ekaterina Alexandrova in round one, held up better despite the back issue.

She still dropped serve five times and hit five double faults, but she also held firm at crunch moments as Anisimova, one of the purest ball strikers on tour, looked to take control on return.

The American, who knows all too well the double-edged sword of teenage stardom having reached the French Open semi-finals as a 17-year-old before taking a long break for mental health reasons in 2023, began extremely well and had points for a 4-1 lead.

But Raducanu dug in and reaped her rewards with a series of five games in a row to take the opening set.

There had been a few winces and glances towards new fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura during the opening set but it became clear in the first game of the second, where she served three double faults, that her back was causing her problems.

By the time she took a medical timeout, she was 3-0 down, but the break seemed to disrupt Anisimova more and a flurry of errors helped Raducanu draw level.

The 22-year-old then moved to the brink of victory with two gutsy holds of serve before creating a first match point with one of her best rallies of the match and converting.

It is the first time Raducanu has made the third round in Melbourne and she pointed to her head after some key points to demonstrate her mental strength.

“If Katie Boulter saw that, she might have a little word,” said Raducanu with a smile. “I think she’s the OG of that one. We have a good relationship, so I’m sure she won’t mind me using it in clutch moments. But I was just sticking out really tough.”

Second seed Swiatek will be the highest-ranked player Raducanu has ever faced at a grand slam, and she is yet to win a set in three meetings with the Pole.

“I’m looking forward to going out there and testing my game against the best, because ultimately you play tennis and you live for these matches,” said Raducanu. “It’s going to be a great buzz of adrenaline.”