Emma Raducanu's 2024 Eastbourne International run finished with a bad performance against last year's finalist, Daria Kasatkina.
The Brit arrived in Eastbourne very motivated to record a good result ahead of Wimbledon, and for a while, she did just that. Raducanu won two matches, one of which was against an in-form Jessica Pegula, who had won at the Berlin Open prior to traveling to Eastbourne.
However, this match was bad for the 2021 US Open champion, as Raducanu failed to hit through her opponent. She didn't serve well, hit very inconsistently, and generally had no idea what to do against the Russian.
The conditions made it incredibly hard for her to find her rhythm because there was wind, and it was blowing hard and changing directions constantly.
The grass bounce didn't help matters at all, but it was just too hard to play the way she likes to play. Kasatkina generally plays with more slices than Raducanu, which made the conditions affect her tennis less.
Even so, she, too, was very frustrated with the conditions, as both were spotted shouting at their box in frustration. The opening set finished 6-2 for Kasatkina, as Raducanu just made too many mistakes.
She had double-digit unforced errors and it didn't change much in the second set. She did adjust her game to include more variety, but the wind just carried her balls wide too many times.
It was challenging to play in those conditions, especially for someone who needs consistency for her game to work. In this match, the conditions were very inconsistent, and Raducanu couldn't do anything about it.
Raducanu was broken six times and t it showed how much she struggled. By the end of the match, the Brit was glad it was over so she could get back home to London and focus on Wimbledon. Kasatkina was clearly more motivated to win the match, doing so in two sets 6-2, 6-2.
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