"I think I actually played better than I did in Melbourne": Emma Raducanu 'in a pretty good place' despite early Singapore exit

Emma Raducanu was beaten in the first round of the Singapore Tennis Open by Cristina Bucsa 7-5, 5-7, 5-7 in favour of the Spaniard. But despite the loss she comes away positive.

Raducanu in particular said she feels like she played better than she did in Melbourne where she lost in the third round to Iga Swiatek and that she isn't too disheartened about her performance.

"I think I'm in a pretty good place with everything and I think I actually played better than I did in Melbourne, so that is ironic," she said after the match.

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"I think it was really small margins in it. I honestly thought I played pretty well today. She [Bucșa] just played unbelievable and, credit to her, she kept it up the whole match."

But also it was a strange week for Raducanu having split with coach Nick Cavaday. "I have the positives [from] this week, coming here on my own with [fitness coach] Yutaka [Nakamura] and my mom, but I'm really proud of how I dealt and handled myself this week," she explained.

"I feel okay. I feel like I have certain things we all manage as the year goes on. I think it's pretty early in the season. For me to be playing this kind of match, all I need is time on court and a match-competitive situation, which I got today. I got it in abundance -- over three hours of it -- so, for me, it's really valuable because every match I play, I feel like it's a win. And I fought really hard. I gave everything. So I just got to keep building and moving on."

While she wanted to spend the Lunar New Year in Singapore, she now won't which is a disappointment but she now looks forward unsure but with optimism.

"To be honest, I don't know what's next for me," added the 22-year-old. "I feel like a lot of things kind of changed in the last week. So I think I just need to regroup and get some advice what [events] I should play next but I'm ready to go pretty much straight away. I'm ready to keep building.

"I just have to take that positive [from Monday's display] and, when I look at it practically, realistically and unemotionally, I think 'okay, my level is improving'.

"I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do from here. It kind of depends what I play.

"I love Singapore though, as a place. It's a shame I can't stay here longer. It is what it is.

"I haven't had much time to explore [the city] yet this year because of the tournament. And I've been so busy training. But, whether I will or won't this year, Singapore will always have a special place and the fans here are unbelievable.

"I felt so much support, I felt so much love. I just feel bad I couldn't pull through for them."

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