Emma Raducanu Defeated By Anhelina Kalinina
After her elimination in the first round of the Qatar Open by Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine, Emma Raducanu said she “had difficulty with everything.”
The British number-seven lost her fourth match in seven since returning from injury, failing to turn around her slow start in Doha.
The opening set was one-sided and took slightly over 30 minutes to finish, during which Raducanu was fully exposed to the power of Kalinina’s thundering backhand.
The British player was more determined in the second set, but in a microcosm of her error-plagued afternoon (she committed 48 unforced errors in all), she lost set point in a second-set tie-break and lost 6-0 7-6.
“I believe I had trouble with both my forehand and backhand today. We were having one of those days.”
Emma Raducanu
Although Emma Raducanu was given a wildcard for the Doha tournament, she had to play catch up to the world number 30 right away. Raducanu is still struggling to return to the elite level of tennis after having surgery on both her wrists and ankles.
After losing to Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi a week ago, the 21-year-old had a sluggish beginning, but her fierce defense as the fight went on will give her confidence.
In an attempt to take the game away from Kalinina, the former US Open champion saved two match points in the second set when behind 6-5. She was also just one point away from tying the match at that moment.
However, Kalinina maintained her composure and, after taking advantage of Raducanu’s shaky serve in the first game, never looked back. She will now play Latvia’s eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
When Raducanu lost her service for the fourth time in a row at the beginning of the second set, she was immediately put under pressure. She had been thrown onto the backfoot in the opening game of the match.
She seemed to be having trouble with the wind, as she appeared to spend a lot of time chasing shadows around a sunlit court.
“As I got closer, I realized that it was becoming difficult to see the ball because of the changed environment, light, and shadows. Honestly, I believe I must continue practicing outside a bit more.”
Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has been back home for a few weeks now, and this recent setback has given her something to think about after she advanced to the Australian Open’s second round and defeated world number 36 Marie Bouzkova in Abu Dhabi last week.
“In addition to attempting to complete more matches, I need to sort of organize my tournaments better,” stated Raducanu, who last month suggested that he might move down to the ITF circuit’s second tier.
