Emma Raducanu crushed in first spherical of Dubai event by ‘fortunate loser’ | Tennis
Emma Raducanu misplaced the ultimate six video games in a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 defeat in opposition to Antonia Ruzic within the opening spherical on the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The British No 1, whose unique opponent Elisabetta Cocciaretto withdrew at late discover due to fatigue, fought again within the second set to degree the match and led 2-0 within the decider earlier than dropping all momentum.
Croatia’s Ruzic, the “fortunate loser” who was defeated within the last spherical of the qualifiers, seized his likelihood in opposition to Raducanu, who had withdrawn from his first-round match on the Qatar Open final week.
Raducanu by no means recovered after falling 3-0 behind within the opening set and was damaged twice as Ruzic wrapped it up in half an hour.
The Brit misplaced her serve once more to path 5-3 within the second set, however battled again with two breaks of her personal, profitable 4 video games on the trot to win it 7-5 and degree the match.
A 3rd successive break for Raducanu put her 2-0 up within the decider, however Ruzic wrestled again management in a seesaw encounter, profitable the subsequent six video games to take the set 6-2 and seal victory in 2hr 20min.
