Emma Raducanu was bested by Marketa Vondrousova at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup after recording her first professional win on the red dirt.
The chance of Great Britain winning this matchup against the Czech Republic was always slim, considering the difference in clay-court prowess between the two nations, but Emma Raducanu leveled the score yesterday after a good effort against Martincova.
Today, she couldn't produce the same level, as her opponent, Marketa Vondrousova, proved to be just too good to overcome for the reigning US Open champion. Vondrousova is a former French Open finalist and generally plays super strong on clay and she demonstrated that.
Good returns, good variety, and excellent movement were all on display from the Czech player, as Raducanu failed in all of those categories. She did not win a single service game in this match, and that tells you all you need to know.
The Brit won only 4 points on her own serve in the first set and doubled that total in the second set, in which she won 8. This was a bad performance from the world number 12, who, in all fairness, is not experienced on clay and will take many more matches to get to a respectable level.
The Czech Republic leads 2-1 and has a chance to secure the Finals appearance with a win in the next singles match. While the Brit's performance was just not good enough, it's important to say that Vondrousova seems to be the key player for the Czech team.
In the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers tie against Great Britain, she first bested Harriet Dart 6-1, 6-0, before beating Raducanu 6-1, 6-1. Thus, she lost only three games in her two matches played for the Czech Republic at the Tennis Club I.CLTK Prague in Prague, Czech Republic.
0 Comments