Raducanu retires in her 2nd match of 2023 despite winning first set 6-0
WTA
Emma Raducanu was forced to withdraw from her second-round match at the 2023 ASB Classic in Auckland despite starting victoriously.
The British player started the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland with a win over Linda Fruhvirtova. In the second round, her opponent was Viktoria Kuzmova.
The 2021 US Open champion started the match very well. She was the better player in the first set, and that was by quite some margin. She started by holding her serve and immediately breaking her opponent's.
Kuzmova couldn't respond, and Raducanu delivered a one-woman show to the fans in Auckland. She lost only four points on her serve in the opening set, and she broke her opponent's serve every single time.
Raducanu had a total of five break points, and she used three of those. Thanks to that, and her great serving, the British player won the first set of the match easily, 6-0.
In the second set, however, things got more challenging for the Brit. She couldn't use two break points when leading 2-1, and she was immediately broken to fall behind 2-3.
Then she wasted three more break chances, and at 5-4, her opponent served for the set. Still, Raducanu managed to break back, but she didn't even have time to properly celebrate, as she was quickly broken again.
After that Kuzmova was able to serve out the second set, winning it 7-5, getting ready for the third set of the match. But that never happened. Raducanu retired after the second set and started the season with yet another retirement as she suffered an unlucky ankle injury.
She will now hope to recover in time for the Australian Open, where she'll hope to recreate the success she had at the US Open in 2021. For now, however, her mind will be on recovery before thinking about winning matches.
