French Open: Emma Raducanu was knocked out of the French Open in the second round after losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich 3-6 6-1 6-1.
The French Open marks Raducanu’s final Grand Slam appearance, and for a set, it appeared as if she was in complete command of the match.
Raducanu was swinging freely and moving well on a surface she believes has the potential to be one of her finest in the future.
However, in the second and third sets, Sasnovich dramatically raised her own level, while Raducanu’s work became more error-prone.
Sasnovich will now face Angelique Kerber in the third round at Roland Garros, while Raducanu will concentrate on the grass-court season ahead.
Raducanu and Sasnovich, Belarus’s world No. 47, had only met once on the WTA Tour. Sasnovich won the match in Indian Wells last year by a score of 6-2 6-4.
But it appeared to be a different story in Paris, with Raducanu breaking her opponent in the fifth game of the first set and appearing to be the more at the ease of the two.
Raducanu stretched Sasnovich across the court with her trusted backhand, then sealed the break with a magnificent forehand winner.
A second break ended the first set, and she got off to a shaky start in the second, which included Raducanu’s first double faults of the match. After that, Sasnovich secured a double break for a 4-0 lead.
Sasnovich’s game surged as Raducanu’s fell in the second set. She won 89% of points on her first serve and had 19 winners compared to Raducanu’s four. She also had a low rate of unforced errors, making only four in the second set.
Raducanu took a toilet break between sets and returned knowing she needed to stop the momentum that was working against her.
On the Sasnovich serve, the British player got to 30-30 only to hit a backhand into the net, causing her to cover her face with her racket in frustration. Nonetheless, the fist pumps came back as she held a breakpoint for a 1-1 tie.
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