By Ashiadey Dotse
British number one Emma Raducanu has been knocked out of the Australian Open after losing in the second round to Anastasia Potapova in Melbourne.
Raducanu, who was seeded 28th, lost 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to the 55th-ranked Russian in a match where she struggled to find her best form. The 23-year-old looked flat in both her movement and confidence, making unforced errors from different parts of her game.
The former US Open champion had problems with her forehand, which she has recently adjusted. Key mistakes, including a missed drive volley in the first set and a double fault that handed Potapova a break in the second set, added to her difficulties.
Raducanu was playing as a seeded player at a Grand Slam for the first time in more than three years. However, her preparation was affected by a foot injury during the off-season, and she only returned to hitting sessions on December 20.
“I want to be playing a different way, and I think the misalignment between how I’m playing now and how I want to play is something I need to work on,” Raducanu said after the match. She added that while there are positive moments in her game, consistency is still a challenge and improvement will take time.
The match began with a scrappy first set, with both players breaking serve several times. Raducanu served for the set at 5-4 but was broken, and Potapova went on to win the tie-break. After a break between sets, Potapova started strongly in the second set, breaking twice to lead 3-0.
Although Raducanu had beaten Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the first round, she appeared short of match sharpness against Potapova. The Russian player took control in the second set and closed out the match comfortably.
Many fans had been looking forward to a possible meeting between Raducanu and world number one Aryna Sabalenka, but this early defeat showed that Raducanu is still working her way back to her best level.
