Raducanu ends season with defeat to China's Wang at Linz Open
Unseeded
Chinese Wang Xinyu caused an upset at the Linz Open on Tuesday (Nov 9) as she
took out US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-1 6-7(0) 7-5 in an absorbing
three-setter to book her place in the quarter-finals of the WTA 250 event in
Austria.
The
defeat brought the curtain down on Raducanu's breakthrough season, during which
she won her maiden Grand Slam, at Flushing Meadows in September.
Wang,
20, got off to a blistering start and clinched the opener in just under half an
hour as her deep returns forced the top seed into a number of errors. Raducanu
was unable to match her opponent, who won over 85 per cent of points on her
first serve.
The
18-year-old Briton responded well in the second set, breaking in the first game
following a rare error from Wang before the Chinese qualifier, ranked 106 in
the world, hit back with a break of her own at 3-4.
Raducanu,
however, outclassed Wang in the tie-breaker, striking a flurry of winners to
win seven straight points and force a decider.
With
the match poised at 4-4 in the third, Raducanu, seeking only her third win
since her victory in New York, had to summon the trainer for what appeared to
be an injury to her right leg.
Despite
the blow, Raducanu stayed in the contest by saving two match points at 4-5 but
was eventually overpowered by Wang, who broke in the 11th game and comfortably
closed out the match on serve when Raducanu sent a backhand long.
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