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Indian Wells: Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper win to reach third round

Emma Raducanu only decided she would play Thursday’s first-round match 20 minutes before play was scheduled to start

British trio Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper all won on Saturday to reach the third round at Indian Wells.

Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, fought back from 4-1 down in the first set to beat Poland’s Magda Linette, the 20th seed, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

She will now face either Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, the 13th seed, or the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.

Murray beat Moldova’s Radu Albot 6-4 6-3 to set up a meeting with Draper, who beat compatriot Dan Evans 6-4 6-2.

Raducanu, 20, continued her return to form after shrugging off illness and a recurring wrist injury to beat Danko Kovinic on Thursday.

The world number 77 fought back to win the opening set on a tie-break, then eased through the second set for her first back-to-back victories since September.

Raducanu suffered an ankle injury before January’s Australian Open and tonsillitis forced her to withdraw from last week’s Austin Open, while the wrist injury that cut short her 2022 season required attention from a physiotherapist on Saturday.

“I feel more positive about my game today,” she said. “The first day [against Kovinic] I didn’t really know what was going on.

“Today I felt pretty decent out there, especially with the conditions. It was really windy and I did well to overcome it.”

World number one Iga Swiatek enjoyed a 6-0 6-1 win over Claire Liu, whose fellow American Jessica Pegula, the third seed, fought back to beat Italy’s Camila Giorgi 3-6 6-1 6-2.

Murray sets up another all-British match

Dan Evans shakes hands with Jack Draper after losing to him at Indian Wells in 2023
After beating Dan Evans (left), Jack Draper (right) will also face Andy Murray for the first time

Former world number one Murray enjoyed his first straight-set win since last October after his original opponent, the 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, had to withdraw because of a muscle injury.

“I felt very nervous today, I’m not sure exactly why,” said Murray. “I had lots of break points and wasn’t quite able to get them.

“It was quite tricky conditions at the beginning, very windy, but I did well in the end to get through.”

The 35-year-old now has his first meeting with Draper, 14 years his junior and ranked just one spot below him at 56.

In his first match against Evans, Draper broke the 32-year-old in his first two service games and his last two to knock out the 24th seed.

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev beat the USA’s Brandon Nakashima 6-4 6-3 while fellow Russian Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed, won 6-4 6-2 against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka.

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