INDIAN WELLS (REUTERS, AFP) - Emma Raducanu said she drew inspiration from Andy Murray's bruising come-from-behind victory after she dropped the second set in her match at Indian Wells on Friday (March 11).
The two British stars played back-to-back on centre court, with the veteran Murray, 34, collecting his 700th career victory and the teenage US Open champion winning for the first time in the Southern California desert.
"I definitely looked up to him today, especially because I was following him," Raducanu, 19, said after her 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 second-round win over France's Caroline Garcia.
"I knew he came through some tricky moments and I was thinking of that when I dropped the second set. I was like, 'You can do the same, just keep pushing'.
"I think it was great to follow him in the order of play today."
Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray became just the 18th player to win 700 matches on the ATP Tour with his 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 first-round win over Taro Daniel of Japan before relinquishing the stage to Raducanu.
He is also one of just four active players to have reached that landmark, along with Roger Federer (1,251), Rafael Nadal (1,043) and Novak Djokovic (991).
"We crossed paths when he was coming off," Raducanu added.
"It's always weird when you're following someone who has just won. You really want to do the same. It gives you the extra fuel. He gave me a fist bump, it was really cool."
Raducanu - who had fans in Singapore gathering to watch her in practice at the Tanglin Club in January - also said she is still adjusting to her new-found stardom after her US Open win last year.
"The weirdest thing is when someone gets so happy that I take a photo with them or say hi," she said.
"To me I feel like that's just normal. I don't think that's anything, they shouldn't be getting happy because it's just me."
Murray, who has been in the limelight since reaching the top 10 in 2007, has had to deal with unfamiliar attention, too, as his six-year-old daughter is now aware her father is not like the others.
"Sometimes she calls me 'Andy Murray', which I find incredibly awkward," he said.
"I'm like no, I'm daddy, I'm not Andy Murray, I'm daddy. She does it now to wind me up, especially when she's around her friends."
Romania's Simona Halep and Poland's Iga Swiatek also came out on the winning side of three-set matches, ensuring they remain on track for a semi-final clash.
Halep beat Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 while Swiatek defeated Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.
In the wildest match and biggest upset of the tournament so far, Spain's Garbine Muguruza held a 6-0, 3-0 lead over Alison Riske before the American staged a sensational 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 comeback win.
