By Peter McLaren-Kennedy • Published: 11 Jan 2022 • 15:01
image: twitter
The US Open Champion and BBC Sports Personality of the Year got a rude awakening today, after Raducanu was thumped in the Sydney International warm-up match for the Australian Open. Raducanu lost in two straight sets with the match lasting just 55 minutes. The 19 year-old met world number 13 Elena Rybakina in her first match since recovering from Covid-19 only to be handed a lesson in tennis, going down 6-0 and 6-1, narrowly avoiding the so-called ‘double bagel’. The defeat comes on the same day she secured a 17th seed ranking for next week’s Australian Open. Overpowered by her opponent, Raducanu will be painfully aware of the mountain she has to climb next week, with expectations very high. Her opponent fresh off a run to the final of the Adelaide International last week gave her the first nine games of the match. Starting out strongly she soon succumbed to her opponent and even managed a smile after avoiding the indignity of a shutout in the 10th game. She was however let down badly by her second serve percentage which barely passed 10 per cent. Raducanu and her camp will be worried after being thumped in the warm-up, with little time to get her fitness level up and to correct her problematic serve.
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Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
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