Stuttgart Open: The British No. 1 Emma Raducanu was eliminated from the Stuttgart Open on Tuesday after a lopsided straight-sets loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
The 20-year-old faced a motivated Ostapenko, who won 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour to advance to the second round and face third seed Ons Jabeur.
With her three-set loss against Bianca Andreescu at the Miami Open at the end of March, Raducanu has already suffered five losses in 2023.
Ostapenko outclassed her opponent in every facet of the match, converting all five of her break points and earning 81% of first-serve points and 74% of second-serve points won.
Ostapenko claimed, “I think I played pretty well and didn’t offer her many chances. She’s a tremendous player, so I knew it would be a challenging match. I’m always prepared for conflict. Being in Stuttgart once more is wonderful. This place has a very pleasant vibe.”
Not to be for Emma Raducanu in Stuttgart as Jeļena Ostapenko secures a 6-2, 6-1 victory#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/lAY5XZzPMP
— LTA (@the_LTA) April 18, 2023
At first, both players held serve well, but as Ostapenko began to settle in, her power and depth off the forehand created a breakpoint in the third game, which she successfully overcame with a good backhand return.
While Raducanu struggled to handle the force of her opponent’s hitting, the Latvian took a 4-1 lead with her second straight break thanks to another forehand victory. Raducanu was also caught off guard by her touch as a clever drop shot helped to win the following game.
Ostapenko served out the set, winning 6-2 in only 29 minutes after the 2021 US Open champion had stopped the bleeding to make it 5-2.
In response, Raducanu won the opening six points of the second set, admirably holding serve to love before building a 30-0 lead in the second game. Nevertheless, the door was firmly shut as the world No. 22 racked up 16 straight points to move 4-1 ahead.
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