By the end of another breathless opening set against the best player in the world, Emma Raducanu was a picture of frustration and despair. Instead of allowing her emotions to consume her, though, they inspired one of the most impressive performances of her career as she pushed Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, to her limits over three hours and nine minutes on court before narrowly falling 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5) in the third round of the Cincinnati Open.
Although Raducanu’s record against the top five now stands at 1-11, this is just the third time that she has won a set against a top two opponent. In recent months, Raducanu has performed well against lower-ranked opponents but she has been the first to recognise the gulf between her and the top players and the necessity for her to continue working on her game and general level in order to compete with them on equal ground. On Monday afternoon, showed herself that she has enough game to make life difficult for the best players in the world and both in terms of her game and her self-belief when she steps onto the court against the best players in the world.
The players walked out onto Centre Court just before 1pm in stifling 32C heat and humid conditions that have presented a significant physical challenge for all players over the past few days. Raducanu was sharp at the beginning of a turbulent set, winning the first nine points of the match.
That hopeful early spell did not last. Raducanu offered Sabalenka her first point of the match with a double fault at 2-0, 15-0. As the Briton began to struggle with her second serve, the world No 1 found her range, imposed her superior weight of shot and rolled to a 4-2 lead. Raducanu, however, had pressured the Sabalenka second serve well and she immediately retrieved the break. Raducanu rediscovered her rhythm on her first serve and forced a tie-break, but while Sabalenka elevated her level under pressure, Raducanu lost all confidence in her second serve. After double faulting at 1-3, Raducanu’s shoulders slumped and she soon found herself down a set.
As Raducanu tried to find a way through, this match also served to underline how difficult it can be for players and coaches to communicate at the beginning of a coaching partnership. Francisco Roig, Raducanu’s new coach, peppered his charge with constant emotional encouragement after almost every point, but there were times when Raducanu rather wanted technical advice for her flailing serve. After surviving an extremely tight service game before holding serve for 5-4, Raducanu was informally warned by the umpire, Miriam Bley, for approaching Roig in the corner in order to seek more detailed advice on her serve.
Although Raducanu was understandably deflated after the opening set, her resilience was impressive. She bounced…
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