Emma Raducanu will be certainly disappointed by her second-round loss at the 2024 ASB Classic in Auckland to Elina Svitolina, as the match could have ended differently.
In her first match after eight months, the British player showed why she's regarded as one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour. She overcame Elena-Gabriela Ruse despite the spirited effort from her opponent, but the second match was always going to be even more challenging.
Svitolina is a former world no. 3, and in 2023, she was voted the Comeback Player of the Year, after some sensational results following her break from tennis because of pregnancy.
The Ukrainian overcame former world no. 1, Caroline Wozniacki in the first round, and she wanted to beat back-to-back Grand Slam champions, something that is not a norm in the first two rounds of a WTA 250 tournament.
But Raducanu had a sensational start into the match. She was solid in every aspect, very aggressive and won points on her own terms. As a result, she built a big 5-1 lead and at 40-40 on her opponent's serve she was two points away from winning the opening set.
But the British player then unnecessarily complicated things, as she struggled to finish the match off. Svitolina took it to tie-break, but Raducanu finally stepped up again and won the tie-break 7-5.
The start of the second set was quite nervous from both players, as they broke each other's serve multiple times. Eventually, they settled at 3-3, and after that, it was Raducanu's time.
She held her own serve to go into a 4-3 lead, and after that, the Brit had two break points to lead 5-3 and serve for the match. However, she couldn't use her chances, and once again, a tie-break had to decide.
Raducanu started well with a 3-1 lead, but Svitolina just stayed more solid after that, as her opponent sprayed unforced errors left and right, and the Ukrainian could win the second-set tie-break 7-3 to force the decider.
Despite wanting the show to continue, fans probably did not get what they expected. Raducanu just couldn't keep up with her opponent in the third set, as the 29-year-old went on to lead 5-0.
There was a glimpse of a comeback hope for the British player as she won her serve to make it 5-1 and saved two match points after that, but Svitolina is not a newcomer, and she routinely finished off the match, winning 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-1.
In the quarterfinals of the tournament in Auckland, she'll finally take on an opponent who is not a Grand Slam champion, but it will be the fifth-seeded Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic.
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