Emma Raducanu conceded her decision not to compete for a month during the North American hardcourt swing was not conducive to her producing her best tennis under pressure on Tuesday night as she was defeated 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 by Sofia Kenin in the US Open first round.
“I would have preferred to probably play a little bit more before coming into the US Open,” said Raducanu. “I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good, you feel like everything’s automatic. So, yeah, I think I can learn from it and manage my schedule slightly differently, maybe.”
Despite being in good form at Wimbledon and then Washington last month, Raducanu opted to head home to London for a training block instead of competing in Toronto, Cincinnati or any lower-level tournaments. The 21-year-old returned to New York hopeful that the quality of her game would make up for her lack of matchplay, but across the net, Kenin – the 2020 Australian Open champion – produced a vintage performance to win a battle of two grand slam champions.
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“I would say it wasn’t [just] me,” said Raducanu of the decision on her schedule. “It was more of like a collective call and, yeah, that’s what happened. And can’t really change it.”
Kenin’s first serve was precise from the start. She maintained excellent depth off both groundstrokes and kept Raducanu guessing with a mixture of loopy balls, drop shots and slices. Most importantly, Kenin was determined to take the ball early and dictate whenever she could. She rolled through the first set with minimal opposition from Raducanu.
Although she struggled to find her timing and range on her groundstrokes, Raducanu’s second-set fight was admirable. She counterpunched well and continually forced errors from Kenin with some excellent defence, while choosing her moments to force herself inside the baseline and attack.
In the final set, though, Kenin’s pinpoint serving was spectacular under pressure, particularly as Raducanu lifted in the final games. Kenin was eventually rewarded for her more attacking instincts and a willingness to take more risks.
Raducanu is still yet to register a victory in New York since becoming the first player to win a grand slam tournament as a qualifier at the US Open. The 2021 champion was tearful as she expressed her disappointment: “I feel down, I feel sad,” said Raducanu. “Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in.”
Since winning her maiden grand slam title in 2020 and ending the year as the WTA’s player of the year, Kenin’s path has had clear similarities to Raducanu’s. Within 18 months of those triumphs, she had completely fallen off the rankings due to injuries, poor form and issues with her father, her coach, who she briefly removed from her team before a reunion.
Last year, Kenin began to rise back up the rankings, but after reaching No 30 she stalled again and her form this year has been poor. Kenin entered the US Open with a dire 8-20 record in 2024. But as she stepped out to face a fellow major champion in front of her home crowd on a big court, the occasion elicited a vintage performance.
“I guess I have to take it as a compliment,” said Raducanu. “I think I’ve had it a few times now when opponents have played really well against me, and, yeah, it’s for a reason, I guess. So, credit to her. She stuck it out and served it out in the third set. There was no let up.”
This was a decent performance from Raducanu, who fought hard and came up short against a talented player. But between her slow start and her tentative play in the decisive moments, it is evident she would have been better placed to match Kenin’s intensity with more matches under her belt.
“I’m just gonna go back to the drawing board and train and analyse where I went wrong and try to improve for the rest of the season. Obviously, the slams are over for this year, but it’s not actually that long until Australia comes around again,” said Raducanu.
Meanwhile, after a difficult start, the British No 1 Katie Boulter, seeded 31st, remained composed as she recovered from a set down to defeat the qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
In the men’s draw, Dan Evans produced one of the most courageous performances of his career to defeat the 23rd seed, Karen Khachanov, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 in a 5hr 35min marathon, the longest match in the history of the tournament.
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After leading 2-1 in sets, Evans found himself down 0-4 in the final set and seemingly en route to a brutal defeat. But as the match neared the five-hour mark, it was Evans who was fresher physically. He gradually pulled himself back into contention with grit and perseverance, reeling off six games in a row to close out the match.
Evans has spent the past few years comfortably inside the top 100 but he faced a massive rankings fall with an early loss in New York. Having been ranked inside the top 60 at the beginning of August, Evans fell to his current ranking of No 186 after opting to compete at the Olympics instead of defending his ATP 500 title in Washington. A first-round defeat in New York would have forced the 34-year-old out of the top 220. “It’s just a crazy, crazy match,” said Evans. “Yeah, I guess it’s one I’ll remember forever.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Jack Draper moved into the second round after his opponent, Zhang Zhizhen of China, retired as Draper led 6-3, 6-0, 4-0.
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