NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (BUS): Emma Radocano, who smashed last year’s US Open title, suffered a nightmare with a 6-3 6-3 first-round loss to France’s Alize Cornet on Tuesday as the clock finally approached midnight. On an improbable fairy tale tennis.
The British 11th seed became the first US Open champion to lose in the first round since Germany’s Angelique Kerber in 2017, Reuters reported.
Raducanu captivated the sports world when she became the first qualifier to claim a Grand Slam title, won 10 matches in New York without dropping a set, and catapulted her career into the stratosphere and made her one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.
Twelve months ago, Radocano made it to her opening match in the dark with no expectations or pressure, but on Tuesday the 19-year-old looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her slender shoulders.
Raducanu was not only defending her first and only title, but was 2,040 out of her 2,756 ranking points, and with those who went, the world number 11 would drop out of the top 70.
Raducanu got off to a positive start smashing Cornet at the first opportunity, but the seasoned French veteran, who set a record 63 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, immediately took a back seat.
The two players exchanged breaks for a second time before Cornett broke the Briton for a third time to stand up 5-3 and hold serve to secure a 1-0 lead.
This was the first group captured from Raducanu at Flushing Meadows but it wasn’t the last.
The task for Raducanu became more difficult after she called the coach between sets to deal with the blisters on her right hand.
When Cornet broke to open the second, problems escalated.
But the Briton will respond with a break of her own and again to rise 3-1.
With the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium at Raducano’s corner, the competition looked headed for the crucial third set until Cornet changed his pace, sweeping the next five games to claim the win.