Miami Open: Emma Raducanu blitzes past Amanda Anisimova in straight sets to move into last eight
Emma Raducanu drops just four games on her way to victory over 17th seed Amanda Anisimova and will now play Jessica Pegula in the last eight; Coco Gauff knocked out but Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek advance; watch the Miami Open live on Sky Sports from March 18-30
Tuesday 25 March 2025 12:03, UK
Emma Raducanu produced an imperious display against an ill-tempered Amanda Anisimova to march through to the last eight of the Miami Open.
The British No 2 continued to look mightily impressive in Miami, taking a comfortable 6-1 6-3 victory over Anisimova, which showed exactly why she is feeling so confident in her game right now.
Raducanu did not lose a single point on her own service game in the first set as the 22-year-old busied herself all over the court, and a misfiring Anisimova just could not find any answers to the Briton's fleet movement.
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After being broken twice to open the match, Anisimova did manage to get on the board in the fifth game but her temper was fraying as Raducanu dominated on serve, breaking her opponent for a third time to wrap up the opening set.
Anisimova called for the physio at the end of the first set and although the 17th seed felt able to carry on, Raducanu continued to play positively in the second set. Although it was not quite as easy, she was able to make her way through.
Raducanu broke in the fourth game of the second set, before losing her own serve for the first time in the fifth as Anisimova began to change up her tactics and gain a little bit of confidence.
But the former US Open champion managed to break her opponent's serve once again in the sixth game and she did not look back from there, eventually wrapping up victory in just 68 minutes on Butch Buchholz Court.
Next up, Raducanu will play fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the last eight.
Raducanu: I've come a long way in the last week
A week is a long time in tennis. So believes Raducanu following her dominant victory over Anisimova.
The British superstar said she felt liberated in the Florida sunshine as she eased into her first WTA 1000 event quarter-final.
It has been a massive jump in form for Raducanu - her display against Anisimova was light years away from her first-round straight-sets defeat by Moyuka Uchijima at Indian Wells earlier this month.
"I've come a long way in the last week since Indian Wells," Raducanu said on Sky Sports Tennis. "I wasn't necessarily feeling great about my tennis, about everything, but this week I have some really good people around me who I trust and who I have fun with off the court, and that's extremely important.
"For me, who's just very expressive, and when I play my best, I'm definitely authentic, true to myself and creative - and I feel when I'm boxed into a regimented way then I'm not able to express myself in the same way.
"So I'm happy with how I realised that this week as well."
It was by no means as easy for Raducanu as she made it look against Anisimova. The Brit admitted her opponent's volatility made it a tricky encounter from a mental standpoint.
"I felt something was maybe going down on the other side," Raducanu added. "It's really difficult to stay focused when your opponent is making some errors and then all of a sudden, just blasting the lines and winners, and you have no idea what's going on!
"I think those matches, it's almost tougher to stay so 'on' the whole time, because when things are more normal, you have to be locked in every single point. I'm really proud of how I came through that."
Working with Platenik 'wasn't right at the time'
Raducanu, who is being helped by Mark Petchey and Jane O'Donoghue, her childhood mentor and former LTA coach in Miami, explained her reasons why there is a sense of trust and synergy in the team following the exit of Vladimir Platenik after a brief stint.
She said: "He is a great coach. He's so experienced. He's worked with so many players and brought them up to the top and developed players. I respect him a lot as a coach.
"It just wasn't right at the time and I'm not sure going forward, but I think this week was a great eye-opener to when I'm happy and expressive and myself.
"Just having people that I've known for a very long time, since before the US Open, and just those familiar faces is the most valuable thing, for this week at least.
"It's difficult because I just met him and it's difficult to kind of build many years of connection straight away."
Petchey and O'Donoghue 'bring small doses of happiness'
On working with Andy Murray's former coach Petchey and O'Donoghue she added: "I think just a relaxed environment, but focused when needs to be. There's more switching on and off rather than be on the entire time.
"I'm someone who works really hard and can be really intense, but sometimes too intense. It's harder to be extremely focused when you need to be on the match court because you're focused from the first minute to the last.
"So I think just being able to switch off and have fun with them and play Spikeball before the match, and we just create certain routines. They bring small doses of happiness that I guess just keep you going, the small things."
Gauff eliminated; Sabalenka beats defending champion
Coco Gauff's hopes were ended on Monday as unseeded Magda Linette eliminated the world No 3 in straight sets.
Linette took victory over the former US Open champion 6-4 6-4 and the Polish player will face Jasmine Paolini after the sixth seed beat Naomi Osaka, coming from a set down to win 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Elsewhere, the world No 1 beat the defending champion as Aryna Sabalenka defeated Danielle Collins 6-4 6-4.
Sabalenka will now face Zheng Qinwen in the next round after the Chinese player beat another American in Ashlyn Krueger.
World No 2 Iga Swiatek saw off Elina Svitolina 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 and will now play unseeded Alex Eala of the Philippines, who moved into the quarter-finals when No 10 seed Paula Badosa pulled out due to a back injury.
Zverev through in men's draw; De Minaur beats Fonseca
Meanwhile in the men's singles in Miami, top seed Alexander Zverev won against Australia's Jordan Thompson after fighting back from a poor start to take the win 7-5 6-4.
Teenage Brazilian Joao Fonseca is out, beaten by 10th seed Alex de Minaur as the Australian fought back from losing the first set to triumph 5-7 7-5 6-3.
The main US hopeful Taylor Fritz also progressed to the fourth round with a 7-5 6-3 win over Denis Shapovalov to set up a clash with Australia's Adam Walton, who overcame Hong Kong's Coleman Wong 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-4.
Czech pair Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik also progressed following victories on Monday.
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