Sports
DEFENDING champion Emma Raducanu of Britain was sent crashing out of the US Open in the first round yesterday, losing in straight sets to France’s Alize Cornet.
Eleventh seed Raducanu became only the third women’s defending champion in history to lose in the first round as Cornet crafted a scintillating performance to seal a deserved 6-3, 6-3 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 32-year-old Frenchwoman, ranked 40th in the world, drew on all her experience to outfox the 19-year-old Raducanu, boldly pulling off a string of exquisite drop shots at key moments to set up the victory.
Cornet, who also produced an upset at Wimbledon last month with a straight sets defeat of world number one Iga Swiatek, attributed her recent improvements to maturity.
“I think I’m just handling my emotions better, that’s it,” Cornet said. “I guess I’m getting old and getting more mature and now when I have to serve for the match I stay in the match and stay in the present moment and really think about what I have to do.
“I think managing my emotions is just much better and I’m really happy because it shows in my results. It’s good because I’m 32. Better late than never.”
Raducanu had been the darling of the Flushing Meadows crowd last year, when she made history by emerging from qualifying to claim a fairytale maiden Grand Slam.
That win marked the first time ever a qualifier had lifted a Grand Slam title.
But she has since struggled to recapture the form that swept her to an improbable championship crown last year. In three previous Grand Slams this year she had gone no further than the second round.
Her exit sees her join Angelique Kerber in 2017 and Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2005 as the only defending US Open champions who have fallen at the first hurdle.
-The Nation
KN
Tags: Alize Cornet Angelique Kerber Emma Raducanu Flushing Meadows Iga Swiatek Svetlana Kuznetsova
