Emma Raducanu Gets 1st Win on Andy Murray Arena at Queenâs, Says the Scot âIs Such an Inspiration to All of Usâ
Emma Raducanu breezed past Cristina Bucsa 6-1, 6-2 in her opening round of the Queenâs Club Championships. The match on Tuesday (June 10) was her first victory at the newly-named Andy Murray Arena.
The Andy Murray Arena was unveiled on June 9. Following her win, Raducanu was asked during the on-court interview about playing on a court named after the three-time Grand Slam champion.
Itâs incredibly special, I saw the arena. Itâs amazing what Andy has achieved here, and in general, his career with Wimbledon. Heâs such an inspiration to all of us. To see him open up this court was immense yesterday. For us girls to have a tournament here finally, after watching the men play on TV, is really nice.
Last year, Raducanu was scheduled to play mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Murray but she withdrew from the match to focus on singles. She reached the fourth round where qualifier Lulu Sun knocked her out.
Raducanu has never progressed beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon. Last year on the grass swing, Raducanu lost to compatriot Katie Boulter in the Nottingham Open semifinals, and to Daria Kasatkina in the Eastbourne International quarterfinals before losing to Sun in London.
This season, Raducanu produced her best performance when she reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Open. It was the first time she was able to win four consecutive matches since her fairytale run at the 2021 US Open. The Brit also made it to the fourth round of the Madrid Open where eventual runner-up Coco Gauff ended her ru
At the French Open, the 22-year-old was defeated by four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek in the second round. In the ongoing Queenâs Club Championships, the Brit will next lock horns with Rebecca Sramkova whom she will be meeting for the first time in her career.
Andy Murray is open to coaching return after split with Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic ended their coaching partnership just before the French Open. About four months after Murrayâs retirement at the Paris Olympics, Djokovic asked him to join his team. The Serb had announced it last November and the former rivals worked together at this yearâs Australian Open for the first time.
Under Murray, the 24-time Grand Slam champion reached the semifinals of the Melbourne Slam and the final of the Miami Open (where he lost to Jakub Mensik). Djokovic also registered three consecutive defeats twice, before and after the Miami Open.
After six months of working together, they ended their collaboration last month. At the unveiling of the Andy Murray Arena, the Scot said he wants to coach again. He told BBC Sport:
I would do it again at some stage. I donât think that will happen immediately. I wasnât planning on going into coaching as soon as I finished playing but it was a pretty unique opportunity. It was a chance to learn from one of the best athletes of all time. You also learn a lot about how to work with a team.
After the split, Djokovic clinched his careerâs 100th ATP title at the Geneva Open and reached the semifinals of the French Open. Eventual runner-up Jannik Sinner ended his run in straight sets in the clay-court Major.
He will continue his bid for his historic 25th Major at Wimbledon next. Djokovic last lifted the title in 2022 by beating Australiaâs Nick Kyrgios and since then, he made it to two back-to-back finals but lost the match to five-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets (in 2023) and straight sets (in 2024).