Croatian tennis player Antonia Ruzic expressed her appreciation for deciding to remain in Dubai after losing her qualifying match, as the unexpected opportunity led to a stunning upset victory over Grand Slam champion Emma Raducanu at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The world No. 67 initially suffered defeat in her first qualifying round match against Rebecca Sramkova last week, but secured a main draw position when seven high-profile players, including top stars Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, withdrew from the tournament.
The 23-year-old Croatian found herself facing 2021 U.S. Open champion Raducanu following Elisabetta Cocciaretto’s withdrawal due to injury, and she seized the opportunity to claim a commanding 6-1 5-7 6-2 victory on Monday, marking her first career win against a top-30 opponent.
“The whole turnaround was crazy,” Ruzic said.
“I was a lucky loser who had lost in the first round of the qualifiers. A lot of the girls were cancelling and a lot of them were not here to sign (as alternates). I was like ‘OK, I’m going to sign and let’s see what happens’.”
Ruzic revealed that she and fellow Croatian Petra Marcinko – who also gained main draw entry as one of seven lucky losers – had stayed in Dubai to compete in the doubles competition together.
“We were going to stay here for two-three days. It’s crazy because I got in on Monday. Playing against Emma, of course, is a tough match,” Ruzic added.
“We played three sets of good tennis and it was a battle in the third. I’m happy I managed to get it under control and that I won in the end.”
The loss concluded a disappointing Middle East tour for world No. 25 Raducanu, with the British player requiring medical assistance during her match against Ruzic for an undisclosed health concern.
The former world No. 10 had battled illness during her Qatar Open first-round encounter with Camila Osorio the previous week, ultimately retiring in the third set while down two games to love.
Raducanu had recently competed in the Transylvania Open final earlier this month, where she fell to Sorana Cirstea.
