Ruzic pleased to take advantage of withdrawals as lucky loser stuns Raducanu in Dubai

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ruzic-antonia/MuT7l0nb/"]Ruzic[/a], ranked 67 in ‌the world, was initially beaten in the qualifying first round ‌by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sramkova-rebecca/WUQY7p9b/"]Rebecca Sramkova[/a] last week but earned a spot in the ‌main draw with seven prominent players, including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]‌Iga Swiatek[/a], pulling out.[/p][p]The 23-year-old was rewarded with a clash against 2021 U.S. Open champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raducanu-emma/YmIZde1B/"]Raducanu[/a] after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cocciaretto-elisabetta/pA0aW3EL/"]Elisabetta Cocciaretto[/a]'s injury, and she made the ‌most of her time under the spotlight, ⁠sealing a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/raducanu-e-YmIZde1B/ruzic-a-MuT7l0nb/?mid=ADNDi966"]6-1, 5-7, 6-2[/a] ‌victory on Monday for her first career top 30 win.[/p][p]"[b]The whole turnaround ​was crazy[/b]," Ruzic said.[/p][p]"[b]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[/b]'."[/p][embed guid="64a0b4c5-169f-40e6-be16-3f0776890214" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_5fdj8cQlw&t=2s" social-type="youtube" /][p]Ruzic explained she and her compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/petra-marcinko/2J180sTE/"]Petra Marcinko[/a] - who also received an entry into the main draw as one of seven lucky losers - had remained in Dubai as ‌they were playing the doubles tournament together.[/p][p]"[b]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[/b]," Ruzic added.[/p][p]"[b]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[/b]."[/p][p]Defeat ended world number 25 Raducanu's disappointing spell in the ‌Middle East hard court swing, with the 23-year-old seeking medical attention ​midway through the match against Ruzic for an unspecified ‌issue.[/p][p]The former world number 10 struggled with illness in her Qatar Open first-round match with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osorio-serrano-maria-camila/rysUUciD/"]Camila Osorio[/a] last week, when she was forced to retire in the third set while trailing by two games to love.[/p][p]Briton Raducanu reached the ⁠final of the Transylvania Open ⁠earlier this month and ‌was beaten by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cirstea-sorana/fBPsm3Iq/"]Sorana Cirstea[/a].[/p]