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Emma Raducanu lacking intensity and energy in Australian Open exit to Anastasia Potapova | Tennis News
Emma Raducanu’s Australian Open ended in the second round with an error-strewn loss to Anastasia Potapova.
The British No 1 had been hoping to set up another clash with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka but she faded from a promising position and fell to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 defeat.
Having arrived in Melbourne short of matches and preparation after suffering with a foot injury throughout pre-season, it should not be a surprise that Raducanu was below her best here.
She was not helped by windy conditions that accentuated the mistakes, and she must now look to put in the work on the practice court she has been missing.
The pair had never played a competitive match before but Raducanu grew up all too aware of Potapova’s talent, with the 24-year-old the leading junior of her age.
Potapova became the latest player to switch from representing Russia at the end of last season, now playing under the flag of her adopted home country of Austria.
She has slipped from a high of 21 in the rankings outside the top 50, and initially it was Raducanu on top, although errors were far outweighing winners from both players in the difficult conditions.
It took six games for either player to hold serve, and Raducanu seemed in control at 5-3 up but she was unable to clinch the set, with Potapova upping her level and playing a strong tie-break.
Raducanu appeared to lack belief in her game and the shouts of ‘Raddo’ from her Australian super fan James Bray, who has earned plenty of media attention after the former US Open champion invited him to all her matches, were becoming fewer and fewer.
Her head hung low as she dropped serve twice to start the second set and, even though she gave herself hope by immediately retrieving one break, she promptly double faulted to slip 4-1 behind.
A final backhand into the net took Raducanu’s tally of unforced errors to 28, leaving Cameron Norrie as the only British singles player left with Arthur Fery going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-3 to Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Sabalenka, Gauff and Mboko cruise into third round
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka came through a rough patch in the opening set to defeat China’s Bai Zhuoxuan 6-3 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena and advance to the third round.
Sabalenka, champion in 2023 and 2024, powered to a 5-0 lead only to falter, with Bai holding serve and then breaking the Belarusian.
The Chinese world No 702 began to frustrate her opponent, picking up a third game in a row as Sabalenka grew increasingly agitated before eventually closing out the set.
However, the 27-year-old steadied herself at the start of the second set and showed the gulf in class between the pair to win another four straight games before eventually confirming her progress to the next round.
“Tricky opponent, she really stepped in on the first set and for a moment I felt: what shall I do? She’s crashing it,” said Sabalenka.
“Super happy I was able to close that set, I think it gave me a little more confidence that I’m there, that my game is there. Focus step by step.
“There’s always a little gap to improve but I’m happy that in that game I didn’t lose it and I was focused and I was trying to tell myself, one at a time, it’s going to come back,” added Sabalenka.
“You’re ok, just keep fighting, keep trying and I’m glad I did it well.”
Third seed Coco Gauff beat Serbian Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-2 to move into the third round.
Danilovic had knocked out Venus Williams in the first round but her chances of beating another American Grand Slam champion looked slim after just 22 minutes when she found herself 5-0 down before a double fault on set point gave Gauff the lead.
There was no respite in the second set either as Gauff consolidated another early break to go 3-0 up, with Danilovic having no answer to her court coverage and precise groundstrokes.
Gauff then converted a break point to seal the match and book a third-round encounter with compatriot Hailey Baptiste.
Canadian teen Victoria Mboko defeated American Caty McNally 6-4 6-3 to advance. Trailing 3-0 in the second set, 19-year-old Mboko won six games in a row to complete the comeback.
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