Emma Raducanu’s US Open championship defense ended in a horrific straight-sets loss to France’s Alize Cornet in Flushing Meadows in New York.
Raducanu did not lose a set in ten matches last year, but she made too many errors on a windy New York evening and lost 6-3, 6-3.
The 19-year-ranking old’s will now drop to around the 80 levels, but after a difficult year, she may be relieved that this phase is over, and she can focus on laying more firm foundations for her tennis career.
Although unhappy, Raducanu did not lose a set in ten matches last year and welcomed the clean slate that the loss would provide.
The crowd inside a sparsely populated Louis Armstrong Stadium greeted Raducanu warmly as they welcomed back their most unlikely of champions.
Virginia Wade, stunned by Raducanu’s triumph last year, was on the court. The main difference in the Kent teenager’s support camp now is the presence of Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who she is trialing as she hunts for a permanent coach.
The wind influenced the battle from the outset, with Raducanu finding it particularly difficult to replicate the same free-swinging technique that had left her opponents flat-footed but spoke in the build-up of a commitment to be on the front foot.
Cornet had not dropped more than five games in any set last year, but she came out on the right side of three consecutive breaks to lead 5-3 in the opener and displayed superb defensive abilities to clinch the set.
The Frenchwoman, who is competing in her 63rd Grand Slam, has had one of the best seasons of her career, reaching a long-awaited first major quarter-final in Australia before ending Iga Swiatek’s 37-match unbeaten streak at Wimbledon.
Raducanu took a medical timeout to have blisters on her fingers treated before dropping service again to begin the second set.
On the other hand, Cornet was giving away a lot of free points through double faults, and with the 32-year-old dissatisfied with the roof closing during play, Raducanu won three games in a row.
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Cornet broke back with the wickedest of drop shots and pulled away to win.
Swiatek advances to the next round of the US Open
Elsewhere, Iga Swiatek easily defeated Jasmine Paolini to go to the second round.
Swiatek has not been in terrific form since her 37-match winning streak stopped at Wimbledon, but she easily defeated Italian Paolini 6-3 6-0 in sweltering circumstances at Flushing Meadows.
Swiatek will be trying to improve on her greatest performance in New York, which came last year when she reached the fourth round.
Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina was the first to go down, falling 6-4 6-4 against French qualifier Clara Burel.
Rybakina stated before the competition that she does not feel treated like a Grand Slam champion and is scheduled on the little Court 12 would not have changed that.
Former champion Sloane Stephens rallied from a set down to defeat Greet Minnen 1-6 6-3 6-3, while Karolina Pliskova defeated Magda Linette 6-2 4-6 7-6. (10-8).
Fourth seed Paula Badosa had to come back from a set down to defeat Lesia Tsurenko, while sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka cruised to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Catherine Harrison.
American eighth seed Jessica Pegula defeated Viktorija Golubic 6-2 6-2, and two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza also advanced in straight sets, defeating Clara Tauson 6-3 7-6. (7-5).
