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'Painful to watch': Tennis world stunned by Emma Raducanu collapse

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read
Emma Raducanu, pictured here in her second-round loss at the French Open.
Emma Raducanu looked a shadow of the player who won the US Open. Image: Getty

US Open champion Emma Raducanu has suffered a stunning second-round loss at the French Open, going down after winning the first set against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Making her debut at Roland Garros, Raducanu lost 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to her Belarusian opponent on Wednesday.

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The 19-year-old Brit broke Sasnovich in the fifth game of the opening set, hitting consecutive backhand winners followed by a forehand to clinch it.

Sasnovich couldn't convert on three chances to break her opponent in the first set but took advantage with two breaks to start the second, when the 47th-ranked player also won 12 of 14 service points.

The 12th-seeded Raducanu failed to convert on five break-point chances at 1-1 in the third, as Sasnovich recorded her 16th career victory over a top-20 player.

Raducanu was surprisingly upbeat after then match.

“I think before I would let the losses affect me more than I am right now,” she told reporters her press conference.

“Now I just look at everything as a lesson, and I know exactly where I went wrong, where I can improve, where other people are better than me.”

Aliaksandra Sasnovich, pictured here shaking hands with Emma Raducanu after their clash at French Open.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich shakes hands with Emma Raducanu after their clash at French Open. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

Raducanu, who also lost to Sasnovich at Indian Wells last year in her first match after winning the US Open title, had 17 winners and 33 unforced errors on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Sasnovich advanced to the third round at Roland Garros for the first time in her seventh appearance.

Fans and commentators were left stunned and disappointed for Raducanu.

Teenagers advance to French Open third round

It was a different story for two other female teenagers at Roland Garros on Wenesday.

Coco Gauff, the youngest woman left in the singles draw, beat Alison van Uytvanck 6-1, 7-6 (7-4).

The 18-year-old American is trying to improve on her quarter-final run at Roland Garros last year - her best result at a major.

Gauff, who celebrated her high school graduation this week with pictures at the Eiffel Tower, beat the Belgian Van Uytvanck in straight sets.

The No.18 seed twice fell behind by two games in the second set but broke back both times. She then forced three errors from Van Uytvanck in the tie-breaker.

Coco Gauff, pictured here in action against Alison Van Uytvanck at the French Open.
Coco Gauff in action against Alison Van Uytvanck at the French Open. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

The 28-year-old Van Uytvanck's best result at a grand slam tournament was reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2015.

And Leylah Fernandez, the No.17 seed who lost to Raducanu in last year's US Open final, also reached the third round with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Katerina Siniakova of Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, another obstacle on Iga Swiatek's path to a second French Open title was removed when fourth seed Maria Sakkari was knocked out 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) by Karolina Muchova.

Sakkari, a semi-finalist in Paris last year, never found her groove on Court Suzanne Lenglen as her opponent set up a meeting with American star Amanda Anisimova.

The Greek is the latest casualty among the top seeds after Tunisia's Ons Jabeur (No.6) and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova (No.2) were knocked out in the first round.

And two-time grand slam champion Victoria Azarenka also reached the third round by beating Andrea Petkovic 6-1 7-6 (7-3).

with agencies

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