Emma Raducanu: British No 2 suffers 6-1 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek at Australian Open | Tennis news
Emma Raducanu managed just one game against second seed Iga Swiatek as she lost 11 straight games 6-1 6-0 in the third round of the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena.
That equaled her loss to Elena Rybakina on the WTA Tour in Sydney three years ago.
The only previous time Raducanu played on Melbourne Park’s main arena was against Coco Gauff two years ago, when she performed well but Swiatek was simply too good.
“I think it was a match where I knew I had to play really well,” said Raducanu, who has yet to win a set in four matches against Swiatek.
“I think today, all credit to Iga, she played good tennis, but I think she played a little bit well and I played not so well. That combination is probably not good and it resulted in today.
“The result was obviously quite difficult. I feel like I look back and I know exactly what I need to do, and I take that as feedback.”
Having come into the tournament without preliminary matches following a back spasm – which flared up again during her second-round win over Amanda Anisimova – the third-round result, Raducanu’s best here, is by no means a disaster.
She singled out her serve as a key area she needs to work on if she wants to get close to the top players after losing 16 times and making 24 double faults in six sets.
“Three weeks ago, when I was in Auckland, I was rehabbing in the pool,” said the 22-year-old, the only British woman to reach the last 32.
“I think being on the tennis court and playing matches and competing is something I have to be grateful for.
“I started hitting when I came here 18 days ago. I have to make sure I was able to beat the two best opponents in the first two rounds. But I don’t think there are any excuses today for my back or physically.
“I think the thing I want to improve is my serving. In the first two matches, I got away with it against two top players because I was able to defend and move, use the rest of my game.
“If I’m not necessarily able to hold my service games or dictate, I feel like it creeps into the rest of my game.”
Swiatek was so slow on serve that she was given a time violation before the start of the match, but after that the Pole was a woman in a hurry, with the hot, sunny conditions giving her hard shots even more.
The Briton dug in well to hold serve in her first game, but it proved to be too good, with Swiatek almost flawless, while Raducanu couldn’t win enough first serves.
Her backhand, usually one of her best assets, was also failing and Raducanu looked like she couldn’t wait to get off the court after 70 minutes of destruction.
Swiatek is famously a good forehander, and this is her 26th match in which she has gone 6-0 at a Grand Slam – by contrast, world number one Aryna Sabalenka has managed the feat just nine times.
“I hit a few shots that I thought afterwards that this was what I was practicing for,” said the second seed, who is bidding for a first Australian Open title.
“I felt like the ball was listening to me. All the tactics and everything I wanted to do, I managed. So I just kept going. This game was kind of perfect for me.
“I wouldn’t say I’m ruthless. I just try to have the same attitude and the same focus regardless of the result. But it’s not that I want to show anything. I’m just playing my game .if it’s working, why stop?”
Raducanu was proud of how she handled the occasion despite the score and is eager to get right back to work, with her next tournament scheduled in Singapore in just over a week – live on Sky Sports Tennis.
“I think one of my goals for this year is just to be consistent, ride with it,” she said.
“My team will probably tell me to take it easy. I feel like I’ve got some pretty good things to work on and feedback. I’ll probably just want to get into it as soon as possible.
“I feel like I’m speaking from a pretty rational place. I’m not necessarily overly emotional anyway.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m ruthless,” said Swiatek, a four-time French Open winner and winner of the 2022 US Open. “I’m just trying to have the same attitude and the same focus regardless of the score.
“But it’s not like I want to, you know, show something. I’m just playing my game. If it’s working, why stop? I’ve also seen a lot of games where somebody’s down 2-5 or something. You always just have to keep going. It’s not over until don’t finish.”
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Ribakina joined Swiatek in the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 win over Dayan Yastremska, but only after receiving treatment on her back, while the eighth seed Emma Navarro and the ninth seed Daria Kasatkina also advanced.
German Eva Lys she became the first lucky loser to reach the women’s fourth round since 1988 when she defeated Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 4-6 6-3 6-3 to be rewarded with a date with Swiatek.
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