EMMA RADUCANU TOLD SHE 'DIDN'T SHOW UP' IN HEAVY MADRID OPEN LOSS AFTER FORTUNATE DRAW

An exhausted Emma Raducanu was brought back down to earth with a bump after being knocked out of the Madrid Open in the first round.

Raducanu arrived in Madrid in good spirits after victories over Angelique Kerber and Linda Noskova at the Stuttgart Open. The 21-year-old Brit is on the comeback trail after a nightmare 2023 which included wrist and ankle operations and she was given a reminder of the brutal nature of professional tennis on Wednesday.

She was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle, who had to come through two qualifying rounds to reach the main draw. Raducanu had originally been drawn to face Karolina Pliskova, but the former world number one withdrew due to injury, presenting her with the world No.82 instead.

The 2021 US Open champion could not make the most of the favourable draw and was broken six times on the way to her heaviest defeat in terms of games won since Stuttgart 2023. Raducanu had dropped to 303rd in the WTA rankings last year and is now up to No.221 following her successes in Stuttgart and in beating Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry in the BJK Cup earlier this month.

But her BJK Cup captain Anne Keothavong admitted the defeat was a bump in the road. She said: "I don't think you can over-analyse the tennis. Emma the performer did not show up today. Credit to her opponent, who came out with the fire and the energy. She was the one who looked up for it and was ready for the fight."

Raducanu herself admitted that she did not have the physical capacity to compete after a tiring period of matches. "I'm going to recharge a bit,” she said. “From the performance today it was very clear that mentally and emotionally, I was exhausted. It's a shame, but I guess the sport is just pretty brutal."

Speaking before the match, Raducanu had warned she is not at full fitness yet. “I’m trying to learn how to manage energy levels,” she explained.

“I’m not going to deny that I am tired. But I think that’s it just accepting that you’re not going to feel 100 per cent and try to save everything for the fight, because the mental side can get you over the line.”

Raducanu wasn’t the only Brit to endure a difficult day in Madrid, with Harriet Dart following her in being knocked out in the first round, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Cristina Bucsa. Dart had won two qualifying matches to reach the main draw and that appeared to take its toll as she surrendered a 4-0 lead in the second set, losing six games in a row to fall to a straight-sets defeat.

2024-04-24T16:50:26Z dg43tfdfdgfd