Emma Raducanu has been drawn to face world No 62 Danka Kovinic in the Indian Wells first round. Raducanu, 20, and 28-year-old Kovinic are set to meet for the second time in their respective careers. At the 2022 Australian Open, Raducanu and Kovinic met for the first time.
Back then, Kovinic upset Raducanu 6-4 4-6 6-3 to reach the third round at Melbourne Park. During the match, Raducanu was hampered by blisters but still managed to force a third set. However, that was all from Raducanu as Kovinic ended up sealing a three-set win.
What did Kovinic say after beating Raducanu in their first meeting?
“I’m the kind of player that I really want to focus on myself and to try to make my own game on the court. So I knew some basic things about her, which my coach told me, and which I was trying to put in the court.
The problem was in the second set when she started to change her game a little bit. Then I got confused – what’s going on, if she can play or she cannot play or what’s wrong with her forehand. Then once again when I started just to think about myself and to be focused on my own game, then I found composure again on the court, and the things got better,” Kovinic said after beating Raducanu at last year’s Australian Open.
Going into their Indian Wells meeting, the edge can be given to Raducanu even though she hasn’t played in a while. When Raducanu takes onto the court for her Indian Wells first-round match, it will be her first match since the Australian Open.
On the other side, Kovinic has lost her last three meetings and she definitely hasn’t been playing great lately. It remains to be seen if Raducanu can make amends for the 2022 Australian Open loss and beat Kovinic in the desert.
