Emma Raducanu: I Can Proud of Myself despite defeat to Aryna Sabalenka as world No 1 edges three-hour epic clash at Cincinnati Open
Emma Raducanu spoke of her pride at running world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka so close in their thrilling third-round clash at the Cincinnati Open.
The 22-year-old was edged out 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) in an epic contest lasting three hours and nine minutes, a month on from also giving Sabalenka a scare at Wimbledon.
Sabalenka was victorious in straight sets on that occasion, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4, though the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story of that third-round meeting
“She’s world No 1 for a reason,” Raducanu said following her three-set defeat in their latest meeting.
“I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon, so that’s that’s an improvement.
“Also, it was good to have this result on a hard court because it’s very different to grass, and I’ve always thought grass suits me a lot more – and I still believe that.
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“So to have pushed her on a hard court like that, I’m pretty proud.”
Raducanu had her moments in the match. She won the first eight points of the contest to race into a 2-0 lead, while she did well to force Sabalenka into a first-set tiebreaker after losing the subsequent four games in a row.
Raducanu was terrific on serve in the second set, missing with only five of her 28 first serves, earning the crucial break in the seventh game and later converting her first set point with a second-serve ace.
As for the decider, Raducanu spurned a break point chance in the third game, before saving four on her own serve in the eighth, an incredible 23-minute long battle that the British No 1 would go on to claim.
But the match would ultimately go Sabalenka’s way. “I think starting the point is a big takeaway,” Raducanu added afterwards.
“I think she did that incredibly well; in the big moments, she served and returned really well.
“I did too, in certain moments of the match, but to kind of hold that level on the starting point for the the whole match, I think that’s a big thing for me.”
