Guadalajara: Reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain retired in the opening-round match of the Abierto Akron Zapopan tournament here against Australia's Daria Saville — ranked 610th in the world — due to a left hip injury on Wednesday (IST).
In a tough physical battle to advance to the second round, Raducanu was forced to retire at 5-7, 7-6(4), 4-3. The match lasted 3 hours and 36 minutes, setting the mark for the longest WTA match of the season.
Prior to Saville's win, the longest match of 2022 lasted 3 hours and nine minutes and was won by Danka Kovinic of Montenegro over Jang Su-Jeong of South Korea 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 at the Australian Open.
"This is probably the first match in a long time when I felt like I was being myself," Saville, a former world No. 20, said after securing a second-round spot. "I was being feisty Dasha. I just want to keep on working and keep on going here," she added.
Raducanu and Saville came into the late-night encounter looking for match-play but neither could have imagined it would last this long. Saville, who touched a career-high of No.20 in 2017, is working her way back up the rankings after undergoing surgery on her achilles tendon last year.
Also read: Pavlyuchenkova Out For 10 Weeks
Also watch: