Emma Raducanu's hopes of pulling off an upset in only her second match since her return from triple surgery were denied by Elina Svitolina at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Raducanu succumbed to a 6-7 7-6 6-1 defeat to this year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist as she effectively ran out of a steam in her second successive marathon match in just three days.
But the signs were still promising as she went toe-to-toe with the No2 seed in a high-quality match, which will still give her confidence going into the opening Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open.
For two of the three sets, Raducanu’s defence was superb, so too a repeat of the aggressive shot-making which had aided her on her way to the US Open title back in 2021.
Her shot selection and game management also left her Ukrainian opponent scrambling from the back of the court. In truth, her physicality was the one shortcoming in a match which nearly reached the three-hour mark.
Raducanu, though, will not be unduly concerned having insisted before the tournament that she was the fittest she had ever been and was merely lacking match sharpness.
The former British No1 had the best possible start as she raced into a 5-2 lead against Svitolina, only for her more experienced opponent to fight her way back into the set and force a tiebreak.
With her right thigh heavily strapped – seemingly precautionary as it did not appear to hamper her movement – Raducanu dropped just one point on her serve in that tiebreak.
She got the first mini-break when a massive Svitolina serve went wide, leading to a shout of frustration from the other side of the net. A great drop shot gave her a set point at 6-4 and another ensured the set was hers.
Momentum swung back to Svitolina in the second set as she managed an early break courtesy of a Raducanu double fault. However, the Ukrainian gifted that break back with a double fault of her own.
Once again, the set went to a tiebreak and this time Svitolina proved the greater aggressor.
Where the opening two sets were tight, the third was anything but. Raducanu was broken immediately and, try as she might, could not force her way back into the match.
Svitolina had one of the seasons of her career in 2023, also reaching the French Open quarter-finals as well as her Wimbledon run, and was awarded the comeback player of the year as a result.
Raducanu could well emulate that feat in 2024 but it is early days in what is her first tournament for more than eight months, having had surgery on both her wrists and one ankle. After so many setbacks with fitness and form, the signs are promising for the 21-year-old.
