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U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu was bundled out of the French Open in the second round on Wednesday, losing 3-6 6-1 6-1 to inspired Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
The 12th seeded Briton, who had to dig deep in her opening match to come from a set down to beat Czech qualifier Linda Noskova, was surprised by world number 47 Sasnovich’s attacking power.
Sasnovich was hitting the ball early, moving the Briton across the court before 19-year-old Raducanu responded in kind with some aggressive hitting. After dragging her opponent wide of the court she earned a key break to lead 4-2 and bagged the opening set when she fired a superb cross court winner. Undaunted, Sasnovich raised her game in the second set to race into a 4-0 lead.
The Belarusian, who had never gone past the second round in Paris, bagged the second with yet another break and then fought off multiple break points early in the deciding set before breaking for 3-1 when Raducanu sent a wild forehand five metres over the baseline.
Raducanu, who only played on clay professionally for the first time last month and had been struggling with a back injury in recent weeks, could do nothing to turn the tide.
A dominant Sasnovich put her out of her misery with a sizzling backhand down the line on her first match point after two hours.
Kerber, Azarenka win
Former Grand Slam champions Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka advanced to the third round of the French Open on Wednesday, as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal prepared to keep their Roland Garros title ambitions on course.
Kerber, who won her first clay title in six years on the eve of the French Open, defeated French wildcard and 2020 junior champion Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) as she seeks the only Grand Slam missing from her collection.
The German 21st seed next plays Aliaksandra Sasnovich, the Belarusian who knocked out US Open champion Emma Raducanu 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
“I think the last week was really important for me to get the title,” former number one Kerber said of her Strasbourg triumph.
“I had a lot of confidence. It’s great to be back here and I hope I can still play a few more matches. When you achieve everything you want, you play for the love of the game. I just love the sport. Let’s see how long I can keep playing at a high level.”
Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open winner, beat 2014 Roland Garros semi-finalist Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-6 (7/3). She meets Swiss 23rd seed Jil Teichmann for a place in the fourth round.
