Emma Raducanu was jokingly blamed for making rival Fran Jones ill at the Nottingham Open – and then the British youngster pulled out of the tournament. Jones set up an all-British quarter-final at the Rothesay Open after defeating Ashlyn Krueger on Thursday.
The 23-year-old, who hails from Bradford, was due to face Raducanu in an enticing last-eight tie. The former US Open champion has been working her way back to fitness ahead of Wimbledon.
Jones revealed that she has spent plenty of time with Raducanu over the last few weeks. However, she admitted that they have both become ill – and has quipped that it is the fault of her upcoming Nottingham Open opponent.
“It’s been a good warm-up. Emma and I get on really well,” Jones, who is 214th on the WTA’s rankings, said on court after her three-set triumph.
“We’ve spent a lot of time with each other in the last couple of weeks, to the point where we’re both actually ill and I think we’ve given it to each other. I’m going to blame her!
“It will be a great match, obviously there is no pressure on me. I’ll come and enjoy it – I hope we both enjoy it.
“We can hopefully give the crowd a taste of the future of British tennis.”
However, Jones pulled out on Saturday morning, just hours before she was due on court. It means Raducanu was handed a walkover into the semi-final, where she faces Katie Boulter.
Raducanu advanced to the quarter-final by beating Daria Snigur in the previous round. The 21-year-old skipped the French Open and some other clay court events to begin her preparations on grass early. She hopes to be fit to play at Wimbledon after a challenging couple of years.
“It was an extremely tricky match,” said Raducanu after beating Ukraine’s Snigur in Nottingham. “I knew from before I came on I needed to be on it today because Daria is a really good player and grass-court player especially.
“I’m very, very happy with how I managed it, especially in the beginning, and came through.”
Raducanu hit 11 aces against Snigur. She revealed afterwards that defeats against Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka made her focus on her delivery.
“I’ve been working on every part of my game but obviously the serve is very important. It’s just repetition and I’m pleased to see the rewards in competition,” Raducanu continued.
“Especially what I’ve realised, playing the top opponents like Iga or Aryna, you need a first serve because they’re very comfortable holding serve. If you don’t have one yourself then it’s very difficult.”
Meanwhile, fellow Brit Cam Norrie suffered a surprise exit against World No. 773 Jack Pinnington Jones. Norrie breezed through the opening set, taking it 6-1, but lost both other sets 6-4.