Emma Raducanu says she has made up with Andy Murray after they fell out at Wimbledon last year with her withdrawal from the mixed doubles.
Raducanu provided an update on her relationship with her fellow Brit at the Australian Open on Thursday, after her second-round win over Amanda Anisimova, which has seen her reach the third round for the first time ever.
Ahead of her showdown with world No.2 Iga Swiatek at Melbourne Park, Raducanu spoke about her decision to pull out of the mixed doubles with Murray at Wimbledon six months ago, a move which saw her criticised.
Raducanu was enjoying a run in the women’s singles and snubbed the mixed doubles after hurting her wrist, denying Murray any more matches at the Grand Slam event on his final appearance there before retirement.
‘Afterwards I sent him a long message, basically: ‘If I caused any trouble I guess at Wimbledon, that’s definitely the last thing I want,” Raducanu said at the Australian Open after her 6-3 7-5 victory over the USA’s Anisimova.
‘He’s someone that I’ve grown up looking up to and I don’t want any bad blood or harsh feelings with him.
‘I sent him a long message and he took it really well and responded saying he was disappointed but he understood. We’re fine now. We walk past each other and say ‘hello’, ‘well done’.
‘It’s obviously really cool seeing him with Novak [Djokovic] here as well. Two great champions and they’re just together, it’s pretty awesome.
‘I really wanted to [smooth things over with him]. Whether or not I can go back and turn back time and do things differently, that’s in the past.
‘All I can do is kind of evaluate that and learn going forwards. And I wanted to take the initiative, because growing up, he was one of my idols.
‘And he still is, with everything he’s achieved in the game, coming from the UK and the same system and everything.
‘He’s someone I respect a lot, and I just didn’t want any negative tension in the air, more than anything, because I’m going to see him around. I just didn’t want that.
‘It didn’t feel right, so I texted him and he replied, and it was like a really nice message. So I’m glad I did that and I just hope he doesn’t hate me too much.’
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