Shock exit in Australian Open: Emma Raducanu beaten by Potapova in straight sets

Emma Raducanu says goodbye to the Australian Open in the second round, after being defeated by Austrian Anastasia Potapova 7-6(3), 6-2. The Brit appeared out of her usual form and somewhat low on energy after giving up a one-break lead in the first set.

Raducanu (No. 29) entered the match as the favourite, but she was surprised from the start by her opponent. With this, Potapova (No. 55) advances to the third round of the Aussie Open for only the second time in her career – the first in five years – and will face a tough cash prize against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

A strange match took place at the start, with cross breaks on both sides, where both players took the opportunities that presented themselves. The first five games were breaks – without either player holding serve: three breaks in favour of Raducanu and two for Potapova.

The streak of breaks was broken by the British No. 1, who for the first time held her service game in the 6th game. The momentum of the match changed, and Raducanu moved ahead 5-3, but Potapova responded, finding inspiration in the final minutes of the set. While Raducanu began committing constant errors, Potapova took advantage to pressure her rival. Thus came the break for the Austrian, who managed to send everything to a tiebreak – and won it comfortably 7-6(3).

Raducanu’s 77% first serve was not very effective, winning only 47% of them, while Potapova had just a 51% first-serve rate but won 57% of them – at least being slightly more consistent than her rival in a first set also marked by windy conditions on the court.

Potapova got the first break right away, and a few minutes later she achieved the second consecutive break. The Russian-born Austrian showed she was ready to compete with the former US Open champion and moved ahead 3-0 with a double-break advantage.

Nerves seemed not to affect Potapova, who with the 3-0 lead gave away a couple of break opportunities to her rival, including a double fault and an unforced forehand error that resulted in a break for Raducanu – who regained hope of returning to the match.

Although both players looked tense in the final moments, Potapova was the one who showed more decisiveness to go after the victory and reclaimed the break – achieving her third consecutive break in her favour. From there, Raducanu got a couple of winners from the baseline, but nothing more, while Potapova held her serve to close out the triumph on her second match point 7-6(3), 6-2, and advance to the third round in Melbourne.

Her next challenge will be against 4-time major champion Aryna Sabalenka – who comes from smashing Rakotomanga and Bai. However, it will only be in the Round of 32 that she will face her first clash against a top-100 player.