EMMA RADUCANU’S match was paused after distressed close pal Amanda Anisimova called the physio to her bench at the Miami Open.
Raducanu looked a class above Anisimova as she stormed to a 6-1, 6-3 win, dropping just nine points in the opener on the Butch Buchholz court.
After the Brit moved 5-1 ahead in just over 15 minutes, Sky Sports commentator Annabel Croft pointed out the American’s defeated body language.
Croft said: “She is all over the place. That sigh says it all. Fed up out here. Not enjoying this. She’s being humiliated.”
Raducanu’s momentum was slightly disrupted in between sets when Anisimova called the physio to her bench.
It later turned into a medical time-out as the physio took time to ease the discomfort in her right arm in their last-16 clash.
Anisimova, 23, received treatment on her right wrist, which was a known injury ahead of the match, after she took a time-out for blisters in her victory against Mirra Andreeva on Sunday.
During the break in play, Croft added: “She was manipulating the wrist as well, which is actually quite painful.
“She’s giving it a good working over, stretching out all those tendons and ligaments.
“I have to say I think she looked completely all over the place.
“She just had no clue how to play Raducanu in that first set, and she sort of almost lost interest in it, hadn’t she?
“She is totally rattled emotionally.
“She was getting irritated, and also the way her body language was, she was rushing through service games like she wasn’t ready or prepared to think about it or compose herself before the point.”
Anisimova continued the match, but Raducanu wasted no time in breaking her serve again as she closed in on a ruthless win.
Raducanu started her campaign by easing past Japan’s Sakaya Ishii before an impressive second-round win against eighth seed Emma Navarro.
The Brit’s round-of-32 match against McCartney Kessler ended in a walkover, after the American was forced to retire with a back problem.
It was the first time she has won four matches in a row at one event since her 2021 US Open title.
The 22-year-old’s maiden WTA 1000 quarter-final opponent will be against either No4 seed Jessica Pegula or Marta Kostyuk.
Raducanu is up to 48th in the live rankings but her level is at least 20 spots higher.
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