Emma Raducanu may be at the opposite end of the spectrum to Andy Murray when it comes to experience of the Australian Open, but the five-time finalist would surely have approved of the tenacity and tactical versatility shown by his compatriot as she forced Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic to a deciding set despite suffering from a deep blister.
The injury, which left the Raducanu unable to hit a topspin forehand for long stretches of her 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 defeat, led some members of her support team to advise against playing at Melbourne Park. But the British teenager, whose discomfort became clear when she called for treatment on her wounded right hand just five games into the contest, was determined to give it a go, insisting it was just one more step on the learning curve.
“It was a difficult match,” said Raducanu, who fought back to level the match despite having to slice her forehand throughout the second set. “I was struggling with my hand before the match. There were some people in my team that maybe didn’t want me to play, but I wanted to go out there and fight through it, see how far I could get.
“I thought it was a pretty good learning experience for me. You know, I discovered tools about myself and my game that I didn’t know I had before, so I can take some positives even from this match.”
There was no such upside for Murray, who came up short against Taro Daniel of Japan, a qualifier with a world ranking of 120, slipping to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat that once again left him questioning his future in the sport.
“This is a really important year for me, for a number of reasons, and I want to perform well in the big events,” said the former world No 1, who had never previously lost to such a lowly-ranked player at a major. “For me, tonight is not good enough in that respect. You know, making second round of slams is not something I find particularly motivating. I want to be doing better than that.”
The defeat was all the more galling for Murray in that he had recovered well from his epic opening-round win over 21st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, a contest that spanned almost four hours. Previously the main concern was his ability, in the aftermath of hip surgery, to bounce back physically from such marathons. Against Daniel, it was the 34-year-old’s inability to break down a younger opponent whose chief strength lay in an ability to make balls.
“I felt all right today physically,” said Murray. “Pulled up pretty well from the match [against Basilashvili]. I felt like I got myself into good positions on the court, [but[ I made way too many errors.
“He was solid the whole match. Didn’t give me too many errors. Which, to be fair, was what I was expecting from him. He moves well, and he’s very consistent. He doesn’t give matches to you.
“I’m really, really disappointed. Very frustrated.”
The question now is whether Murray, who spoke emotionally of missing his family after his defeat to Aslan Karatsev in Sydney last week, will deem the sacrifices demanded by the tour worthwhile if his results do not improve.
“It depends,” he mused. “If I lose in the second round of a slam and I lose to Djokovic in five sets or something, it’s a different situation.
“Obviously I’m not seeded just now. I’m far away from that, which makes things difficult, in terms of like I’ve played Basilashvili a couple of times, and Stefanos [Tsitsipas] at the US Open, and that makes things challenging.
“That’s not what motivates me, but moving up the rankings and getting seeded in tournaments helps, [it] gives you the opportunity maybe to build your way into a tournament a little bit and maybe not have to come out and start playing really well straightaway.
“So it depends on many things, the situations. But a performance like tonight is not something I find motivating at this stage.”