Emma Raducanu put on an encouraging performance in a three-set loss to Elina Svitolina but raised new injury fears as she wilted in the latter stages.
When Raducanu emerged on Thursday with heavy strapping to her right thigh, fans would be forgiven for thinking here we go again. But those concerns were allayed as she showed no sign of discomfort for over two hours. In fact, she looked sharper than she had in her first round win and was going toe-to-toe with former world No 3 Svitolina. But as things started to unravel in the decider, Raducanu began to worryingly clutch her lower back.
The hope will be that it was merely a sign of fatigue, but it raised fresh questions about just how her body will shape up on the comeback trail, following eight months of rehab and three surgeries last year to both wrists and an ankle.
This 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-1 loss had more positives for Raducanu to take than negatives, but perhaps two hours and 48 minutes was too tough a physical test after another long match earlier in the week.
It was a huge shame as, for two highly competitive sets, Raducanu offered a glittering reminder of just how capable she is of hanging with the best in the game.
EXCEPTIONAL, @EmmaRaducanu 🤩#ASBClassic pic.twitter.com/gkZkp4OY5U
— wta (@WTA) January 4, 2024
Second seed Svitolina is by far the more in-form player, as she made a remarkable comeback of her own last season, with runs to the quarter-final and semi-final at Roland Garros and Wimbledon just months after giving birth to a daughter.
Former US Open champion Raducanu did a phenomenal job of fending off this new-and-improved version of the Ukrainian in the early stages. After storming to a 5-1 lead in the first set, Raducanu’s mental strength was on display as she kept composed when Svitolina upped the level and rattled off five games in a row. The Briton then forced the tiebreak and hit two clutch drop shots to take the first set.
Raducanu had said pre-match that she had “nothing to lose” and she played like it. She hit 19 winners to nine unforced errors in the 71-minute first set, showing the packed Auckland crowd how sweetly she can blast a forehand.
The second set was equally competitive, with Raducanu improving her net play and showing surprising match sharpness. She even had a 3-1 lead in the second set tiebreak, but a handful of unfortunate errors saw Svitolina force the decider.
From thereon Svitolina sped to the finish line, winning five games in a row, and it was early in the third set that Raducanu began to slow, and looked to be experiencing back pain. Svitolina was a deserved winner in the end, hitting a whopping 52 winners to 26 unforced errors, and she progresses to the quarter-finals where she will play Marie Bouzkova on Friday.
These first two matches for Raducanu have been hugely impressive in terms of her tennis level, and the hope will be that her physical issues are not serious as she heads into the Australian Open beginning on January 14.
