Emma Raducanu put up a big fight and delivered a pretty courageous performance against Iga Swiatek 6-7 (2) 3-6 but still ended up losing to the world No. 1 in their Stuttgart quarterfinal match.
After losing to Swiatek in straight sets in their first two meetings and entering their Stuttgart match as the underdog, Raducanu came out swinging, playing great and looking determined to make a statement this time. In the end, Raducanu definitely tested Swiatek and didn’t embarrass herself but disappointingly for her, she again ended up losing in two sets to the four-time Grand Slam champion.
In the first set, Raducanu was going toe-to-toe with Swiatek but she collapsed in the tie-break as the Pole won the opener that lasted 70 minutes. Raducanu didn’t go down without a fight in the second set either but Swiatek was also playing at a high level and she just wasn’t allowing the Briton to turn the situation around.
Emma Raducanu© Getty Images Sport – Alex Grimm
In the Stuttgart semifinal, Swiatek will play against Elena Rybakina, who edged out Jasmine Paolini 6-3 5-7 6-3.
How Swiatek beat Raducanu in a high-quality match?
In the very first game of the match, quite a situation happened as Swiatek had three consecutive game points before Raducanu won the next five break points to clinch a break right from the gate. Then, a marathon second game ensued as Raducanu missed out on five game points before Swiatek realized her third break point to instantly get the break back.
After the match started with consecutive breaks, both players then pretty much firmly held on to their serves for the remainder of the set as only break point was seen before the opener went into a tie-break – Raducanu saved a break point in the sixth game.
Until the tie-break started, the first set was a pretty tight contest. But the tie-break was pretty one-sided as Swiatek started with a comfortable 4-0 lead before converting her first set point and winning the tie-break with just two lost points.
Iga Swiatek© Getty Images Sport – Alex Grimm
As often happens in tennis after a player loses a tight set, Raducanu didn’t start the second set well as she got broken to love in the first game of the second set. In the third and fifth games, Swiatek kept putting major pressure on Raducanu’s serve but the Briton managed to save two break points in the third game and three break points in the fifth game, respectively.
But in the ninth game – the game in which Raducanu was serving to stay in the match – Swiatek got her second break of the set after realizing her first match point to complete a two-set win over the 2021 US Open champion.
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