Emma Raducanu struggles with hand injury on her way to Australian Open defeat

Emma Raducanu is out of the Australian Open after a painful defeat to world No.98 Danka Kovinic.

The British No.1 was hampered by a blister on her right hand throughout as Kovinic reached the third round following a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory and will now face Romania’s Simona Halep or Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Kovinic needed to deliver one of the most memorable performances of her career to overcome the 19-year-old and had plenty of kind words to say about her opponent in her post-match interview.

‘It was a really nice experience to play Emma here and make the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time after many years,’ she said.

‘I didn’t see the second round, I wanted to get through my first round and it was regular preparation.

‘Emma has had amazing results, winning a Grand Slam at such a young age. She is an amazing talent. I’m just so happy I could play such a high level.

‘I was a little bit low in my energy through the third set so I tried to focus on myself, not show much emotion and save my energy.’

While Andy Murray already found himself two sets down to Taro Daniel just as Raducanu was starting her match, the British No.1 began far better than her compatriot.

Raducanu wasted no time in racing to a 3-0 lead, but unlike her opening set bagel against Sloane Stephens, she soon found herself with only a single break cushion.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Lovely to meet you @EmmaRaducanu ð We look forward to hanging out again soon.#AusOpen ⢠#AO2022 pic.twitter.com/ralqWz03nv

At 3-2 up, Raducanu called for a medical timeout to address a blister on her hand that was causing her pain and then was broken to love.

Her opponent reeled off five games in succession, playing Raducanu at her own game with aggressive shots