EMMA RADUCANU was proud of her fighting spirit after revealing she might not even have taken to the court for her second-round match at the Australian Open.

The US Open champion was beaten 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in a bizarre match that saw her reduced to hitting slice forehands because of a painful blister on her right hand.

Raducanu took a medical time-out for treatment after only five games and was hampered throughout but somehow won the second set before going down in three.