Raducanu outlasts Navarro to reach third round in Miami

Emma Raducanu had to dig deep to beat Emma Navarro and book her place in the third round of the Miami Open on Friday.

The Brit was forced into a decider but won her second tie-break of the match to triumph 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 7-6 (7-3) in just under three hours.

There was little to split the pair in the first set and though Navarro blinked first in the fifth game, Raducanu could not hold onto her break advantage, losing her serve straight after.

The American twice had a chance to take the first set in the tie-break, but Raducanu rallied impressively from 6-4 down to win the last four points.

She could not maintain that level though, with Navarro stringing together two three-game winning streaks in the second set without facing a single break point to force the decider.

Another slow start almost cost Raducanu after Navarro broke to love in the first game of the third and stormed to a 3-1 lead. However, the 22-year-old won four straight games to put herself in a commanding position at 5-3.

They traded blows once again to level the score, and though it took Raducanu two attempts to take the match, she booked her place in the next round with a superb backhand return.

She will play either McCartney Kessler or Linda Noskova in the next round.

Remarkable from Raducanu@EmmaRaducanu down 1-3 in the third set, storms back to defeat Navarro 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(3)!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/Yl6laOBBOg
— wta (@WTA) March 21, 2025

Data Debrief: A marathon fight

Both players had chances to win, and they certainly put on a show in Miami, with their two-hour-and-53-minute match the longest at the tournament so far.

Eventually, Raducanu prevailed, earning her first career top-10 win on hard court - she had previously lost her first six such matches in straight sets.

She had her work cut out for her though - going back to last year, no one has played more three-set matches (35) and won more (24) than Navarro. In fact, she had won six of her seven such matches this year, until Raducanu stepped in to halt her progress.