Emma Raducanu has admitted she thinks the scoreline in her defeat to Iga Swiatek was ‘harsh’ after losing at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old lost 6-1, 6-0 as her hopes of Grand Slam glory were ruthlessly ended at the Rod Laver Arena.
Raducanu has been widely criticised after losing just one game during the contest.
But the Briton, speaking afterwards, has hit back and insisted she feels the scoreline was ‘harsh’, despite being below-par.
Emma Raducanu has admitted she thinks the scoreline in her defeat to Iga Swiatek was ‘harsh’ after losing at the Australian Open
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“I think it was a match going into it I knew I had to play really well,” said Raducanu.
“I think today, credit to Iga, she played good tennis, but I think it was a little bit of her playing well and me not playing so well.
“That combination is probably not good and resulted in today.
“The scoreline was obviously quite harsh. I feel like I look back and know exactly what I need to do, and I take it as feedback.”
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Laura Robson has reacted to Raducanu’s defeat.
Speaking on Eurosport, the former tennis star said it was a ‘positive’ that the 22-year-old was moving freely and looking fit during the match.
But Robson did acknowledge the gulf in class between the two players, with the 30-year-old citing a big difference in ‘intensity’.
“The positive was that she was moving well, and when she was able to stay in the rally she was able to put in some good points,” Robson said.
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“But the difference was the intensity between the two of them.
“Iga has played that kind of match 55 times in the last year, and on the big points she knows what to do – on the more important points she was able to step it up another gear.
“Whereas Emma didn’t play coming into here, she played two very different opponents in the first two rounds who gave her a lot of unforced errors.
“It was the complete opposite today. Iga gave her absolutely nothing to work with and she’s such a good front-runner.”
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Emma Raducanu is set to go back to the drawing board following her Australian Open exit
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Robson also thinks Raducanu must learn from the defeat and go back to the ‘drawing board’.
She continued: “In many ways, it will be a learning curve for Emma to get back to the drawing board, and think ‘okay, if I want to challenge these top players, I need to train with this intensity and play matches with this intensity.
“Some of this she knows but it was the real standout of what was on show today.
“When you step up to this level, Swiatek has played so many third rounds of slams, she’s comfortable.
Emma Raducanu won just one game against Iga Swiatek in their Australian Open clash
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“The sharpness was there every time she stepped up to the line and if you aren’t used to that kind of rhythm and pace and power coming onto your racquet, it’s very hard to keep up.
“I honestly think it’s one of those matches you learn a lot from, you get back on the practice court and you’re excited to do that.”
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