Raducanu: Felt I had to beat opponent and umpire
British tennis star Emma Raducanu lashed out at the Nottingham Open despite winning her first match on grass for almost two years.
The former US Open champion beat Japanese player, and doubles partner of Heather Watson at the Nottingham Open, Ena Shibahara 6-1 6-4 and will play Ukraine’s Daria Snigur in round two.
But Raducanu, who has suffered a number of injuries over the last year, hit out at officials, stating it was like “two versus one on court”.
Harriet Dart’s outburst followed by Raducanu’s comments make for uncomfortable reading for Nottingham Open organisers.
“I feel like I was playing two versus one on court, it was insane,” said Raducanu.
“I think a lot of the time they go both ways, today I felt they were all against me but it just makes me feel better that I managed to beat her and the umpire as well.
“It is difficult when there is no challenge but it is something everyone has to deal with.
“You can be fortunate in some ways, maybe it was just trying to make the match more competitive. It was 6-1 and 5-1 and all of a sudden first point serving at 5-3 it’s a really bad line call.
“It’s something I had to deal with and overcome. I am very pleased with the attitude I came out with from the get-go and also having to deal with the adversity.”
Elsewhere, Andy Murray lost 6-3 6-4 to Marcos Giron at the Stuttgart Open.
Giron will take on fellow Brit Jack Draper in the next round ahead of Wimbledon next month.