UNEARTHING THE MURRAY BLUEPRINT: CAN PETCHEY GIFT EMMA RADUCANU THAT MISSING GRAND SLAM GRIT?
Emma Raducanu flips the script! Discover why Mark Petchey is back, the Murray connection, and the plan for Indian Wells 2026.
Emma Raducanu has brought Mark Petchey back onto her team just before Indian Wells. She split from Francisco Roig after the Australian Open in January.
Since then, she’s been working with Alexis Canter, who’s still in her corner. Now Petchey’s joining in a more flexible, as-needed role. He actually coached her from March to July last year.
It’s a bit surprising; honestly, just a few days ago, Raducanu said she wasn’t searching for a new coach. Talking to the Guardian, she explained, “Right now, I have Alexis in my corner. He knows me as a person. He knows me as a player.”
She’s hoping this new team clicks at the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, especially after making the final at the Transylvania Open not long ago. Petchey, by the way, coached Andy Murray when he was just starting. When Murray and Petchey parted ways, Murray was open about it.
“Mark has been a big part of my success in the last 10 months, and we had a great run together, but we have had a difference of opinion regarding some aspects of my game,” Murray said back in April 2006. “It was a very difficult decision and based solely on the development of my tennis.”
Their partnership didn’t even last a whole year, but Petchey was there when a teenage Murray won his first ATP title in February 2006. Petchey saw something special in him right from the start.
After they split, Petchey said, “I am very proud of what we have achieved together, getting Andy into the top 50 and winning his first ATP title at the age of 18. I do not doubt that Andy will make the top 10 and be a Grand Slam winner in the future, and I wish him every success.”
Murray outdid all those predictions, picking up three Grand Slams and two Olympic golds. Still, there was never any bad blood. In 2016, with Murray at world No. 1, Petchey called him Britain’s greatest-ever sportsman.
He told Sky Sports, “I just think for Andy, with the way his opponents can impact his performance, the things he has to do to overcome them tactically, you saw it this week, the different styles of players, the different surfaces, criss-crossing the globe the way he does. For me, he is [Britain’s greatest ever sportsman], but there will be others who definitely disagree.”
BROOKSBY OUT: AMERICAN STAR'S DREAM RUN ENDS AS DANIIL MEDVEDEV CLINCHES CLINICAL DUBAI VICTORY
Medvedev through. Get the report on his 6-2, 6-1 win and his thoughts on Brooksby’s suspected shoulder injury.
Daniil Medvedev is through to the semi-finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after beating Jenson Brooksby.
Medvedev has looked sharp in Dubai. He started by beating Juncheng Shang in straight sets, then cruised past Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 16. That win over Wawrinka, who was playing his last match in Dubai, set up this quarter-final against Brooksby.
Honestly, Brooksby never really got going. Medvedev broke him right away in the first game and kept the pressure on for the whole 57 minutes. He didn’t face a single break point and never let Brooksby settle into the match.
Medvedev’s serve looked rock solid, and he was all over Brooksby’s second serve. He won a big chunk of his first-serve points and made the most of his break chances. Brooksby, on the other hand, barely managed a couple of winners the entire match.
The score pretty much tells the story. Medvedev snatched the first set with no trouble, then broke serve three more times in the second to wrap things up without much fuss.
Brooksby, who isn’t even in the top 40, just couldn’t find a way past Medvedev’s depth and clever shot-making on these quick Dubai courts. He barely had any chances to break back.
Now Medvedev gets ready for the semi-finals, where he’ll take on either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Jiri Lehecka. He’s looking to keep up his run and go for the title.
After the match, Medvedev said he was happy with how he played and is looking forward to the next round.
“I’m really happy with my level. I think I’m playing better and better with every match,” he said. “A lot of my shots were landing in, and I think maybe he had a shoulder issue, but he’s a tough competitor, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
“I put in the work during the off-season and came into this year feeling good. I think you can see that paying off now.”
DUBAI OPENER: TOP SEED FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME SURVIVES TENSE TIE-BREAK AGAINST ZHIZHEN ZHANG
Dubai Day 1: Discover how Felix Auger-Aliassime survived a tense tie-break, and Jack Draper made a winning return to the ATP tour.
Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Draper both made it through to the next round at the Dubai Duty Free ATP 500 Tennis Championships, which kicked off today.
Auger-Aliassime had to dig deep against China’s Zhizhen Zhang, coming out on top 6-3, 7-6 after a match that lasted just under two hours. He grabbed an early break in the first set, but the second set was a battle. He had six chances to close it out before finally getting over the line in a tense tiebreak. Relief was written all over his face as he left the court, stopping to sign loads of autographs for the fans who stuck around.
“I stopped counting the match points at some point; it was getting too frustrating,” Auger-Aliassime admitted afterwards. “As a player, you want to be in that position, but your mind plays tricks. I kept thinking, ‘I’m so much further from losing than he is; he should be the one who’s nervous.’ I just told myself, ‘If it goes to a third set, I’ll be ready.’”
Draper, back on the ATP tour after six months away, looked a bit off at the start and had to save a bunch of break points early on. But he settled in and took down Quentin Halys, a qualifier, 7-6, 6-3.
The British No. 1 had a tense moment at 4-5 in the first set, going to deuce three times before holding serve. He got two break points in the next game but couldn’t capitalise. In the tie-break, Draper shot ahead 5-2, lost his lead, but finally edged it out 10-8.
Asked how it felt to be back, Draper said, “It feels so good. Honestly, just being out here in front of a crowd, playing a tough opponent, it was tricky out there. Sure, I could’ve played a bit cleaner, but I haven’t been on tour for a while, so I’m really proud of today. I just want to keep going. This is what I love about being out here, competing, and feeling that adrenaline again.”
Draper’s time off gave him a chance to work on his serve. “My serve was always solid, but it could’ve been more consistent,” he explained. “I worked on a few mechanics, especially after my pec injury last year and the recent bone stress. I’m always looking for ways to get better. Honestly, my serve feels more reliable now than ever, and I just need to get my arm back to 100%.”
Before the tournament started, Draper and Auger-Aliassime popped by the stadium for a surprise session with young players. They ran drills, shared stories from their own careers, and tried to inspire the next generation.
“I think it’s amazing to give back, especially to kids,” Draper said. “I remember how inspiring it was for me to be around players like Andy Murray when I was younger.”
Elsewhere, Stan Wawrinka beat Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan 7-5, 6-3, and Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard survived three tie-breaks to win 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 against Moez Echargui.
Read More News