Emma Raducanu faced a disappointing early exit at the Australian Open, losing 6-1, 6-0 to second seed Iga Swiatek in just over an hour. Raducanu acknowledged her serve’s shortcomings following the match, stating, “urgent work is needed.” She hit four double faults and struggled with foot faults, indicating technical issues. Reflecting on the defeat, Raducanu maintained a philosophical outlook, recognizing the pressure of not serving well impacted her overall performance. Despite this setback, she highlighted her progress in other areas of her game and expressed determination to improve and remain competitive moving forward.
Emma Raducanu suffered her heaviest loss in a Grand Slam when she lost to second seed Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old shipped 11 games in a row, losing 6-1, 6-0 in just over an hour.
This was a tough early test for Raducanu’s recent determination to maintain an even keel of emotion amid the ups and downs of tennis. But after the match, she appeared rational and philosophical, but admitted that urgent work was needed on her serve, which had disappointed her so much this week.
“She played very well, I didn’t play very well, so… it wasn’t a great combination,” Raducanu said.
“I definitely understand what happened there. I feel like when you don’t hold your service game or you don’t make the dictation, it kind of permeates into the rest of the game.”
“During the second serve, you feel more pressure because of the structure of the points after that.”
Emma Radukanu loses to Poland’s Iga Swiatek and misses Australian Open
The 22-year-old Raducanu had no answer, but the second seed won 6-1, 6-0 in the third round.
Raducanu was able to paper through some cracks in the first two rounds, but the truth is that her serve doesn’t seem fit for purpose at Grand Slam level. When Swiatek encountered a truly elite athlete, he applied a pickaxe to the crack and turned it into a larger crack.
When asked what her priority will be going forward, Radukanu said, “Serving.” I managed to get away with the first two matches against the top two players. Because we were able to defend and move and we were able to use up the rest of the game. But it needs to be improved. ”
There were 15 double faults in her first round match and five in the second round. Against Swiatek, she hit four doubles and also had three foot faults, a sign that she wasn’t happy with what she was doing, throwing the ball too far forward and having to drive it down the court. It might have been.
Her grip, or at least the way she holds the racquet at the beginning of the move, has changed since the end of last season, and it feels like a work in progress. Back spasms in December halted her preseason and halted the work she and coach Nick Cavadey were doing on the most important shot in tennis.
It is understood that the focus was on wide serves from the advantage side, and she actually hit them well this week. But the lack of a true kicking second serve makes her too predictable, and the best returners (of which Swiatek is certainly one) take advantage mercilessly. Raducanu won just 23% of his points on second serves.
The two players were born just 18 months apart and were at one point tied for one Grand Slam title each. However, Raducanu is still active in the game, and Swiatek has won five majors and is definitely on his way to making history with more majors to come. She has never won the title, but with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff on the other side of the tie, she is at least the heavy favorite to advance to the final.
The second seed wins many sets 6-0 or 6-1, leading to a running joke on social media about “Swiatek’s Bakery”. Laducanu was an unwanted guest here, served with breadsticks and a bagel.
Raducanu has now faced Swiatek four times, but has yet to win a set. Some of the other matchups have been evenly matched, but this one was completely different. In fact, it was a mirror image of their Wimbledon junior quarterfinal matchup, which eventual champion Swiatek won 6-0, 6-1.
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“The difference between playing with her today and playing in Stuttgart, where it was pretty close, is that she served really well in Stuttgart,” Raducanu said.
“I think the groundstroke side of my game is actually probably better now. I don’t think I was able to get into a lot of situations today where I could compete from the back of the court.
“I can definitely say I’m making progress. It’s just one big factor that’s not as good.”
Raducanu’s serve is a shaky area of her game. This was incredibly effective in her run to the 2021 US Open title. Its thin, slippery nature suited it perfectly for the smooth Flushing Meadows courts, and she was an ace in championship points from start to finish, earning her a ton of free points.
On the regular tour, as she began to play on different surfaces and players began to get to know her game, her serve seemed less effective. Raducanu admits he is a compulsive tinkerer, cutting back on his activities over the summer and then extending them again in the fall. She served well in November’s Billie Jean King Cup final in Malaga, but her movement looked different and less effective in Melbourne.
The only good thing about this humiliating loss was that he suffered from physical discomfort after suffering back spasms in December that forced him to miss the Oakland Open and also affected his second-round win over Amanda Anisimova. There were no signs of this.
“Three weeks ago, when I was in Oakland, I was rehabbing in the pool,” she said.
Swiatek has won five Grand Slam titles and is aiming for his first Australian Open title.
“Being able to play matches and compete on the tennis court is something I have to be thankful for. I started hitting after I got here 18 days ago, and winning against higher ranked opponents in the first two rounds is something I have to be grateful for. We must take the fact that we were able to do so in a positive light.
“Today, we cannot make excuses based on backwardness or physical reasons.”
When asked what happens next, Raducanu said:
“I don’t know, the team will probably tell me to take it slow, but I think there’s work to be done and I want to get to it as soon as possible. I feel like I’m speaking from a pretty rational place. In any case, I don’t necessarily need to get emotional. I think I’ll be back to normal soon.”
