NEW YORK — Emma Raducanu‘s US Open defence came to an end in the first round as she lost to Alize Cornet in straight sets on Tuesday.
Raducanu stunned the sporting world last year when she went from qualifier to winner of the women’s singles in an incredible fortnight in New York. But she came unstuck against Cornet, who was playing in her 63rd straight Grand Slam. Cornet defeated Raducanu 6-3, 6-3 in 1hr 42 minutes.
It was a match in which both players struggled to hold serve in blustery conditions on Louis Armstrong, and there were five breaks of serve in the first set.
Raducanu called a medical timeout at the end of the first set for treatment on her right hand, having suffered from blisters there during her practice session on Friday.
Cornet and Raducanu exchanged breaks at the start of the second set but the key spell came in the seventh game, when Cornet broke Raducanu’s serve to go 4-3 up. She held in the eighth and needed just one match point to break Raducanu again and progress to the second round.
The victory is another highlight in Cornet’s year, after she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and defeated world No.1 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon.
For Raducanu, the defeat will see her fall in the WTA rankings as she loses 2030 points she won here last year. This is her first full year on the WTA Tour, and she has fallen in the second round at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon ahead of this first-round exit at Flushing Meadows.