9 hours ago
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Emma Raducanu looked below-par in an Australian Open second-round defeat by Austria's Anastasia Potapova that denied the Briton a meeting with world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Raducanu, seeded 28th, lost 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 against 55th-ranked Potapova in Melbourne.
The British number one looked flat in her mood and movement, with mistakes coming from all parts of her game.
The 23-year-old lacked certainty in the forehand she has recently tweaked, while a wild drive volley at an important stage in the first set and a double fault to hand over a break for 4-1 in the second further added to her discomfort.
Former US Open champion Raducanu, seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in more than three years, had her off-season disrupted by a foot injury and did not return to court for hitting sessions until 20 December.
"I want to be playing a different way, and I think the misalignment with how I'm playing right now and how I want to be playing is something I want to work on," Raducanu said.
"There are definitely pockets of me playing how I want to play and it comes out in flashes, which is a positive. But it's not how I want to be consistently every day.
"It's not going to fall into place straight away, but the more I work on how I want to be playing, it will be more of my identity every time I step onto the court.
"I need to work at that, but it's not going to happen overnight."
While Raducanu improved to beat 197th-ranked Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the first round, she looked undercooked against Potapova.
Russian-born Potapova also made a huge amount of errors in a poor-quality first set which started with five breaks of serve before Raducanu pulled away.
Raducanu served for the first set at 5-4 but was broken back by Potapova, who promptly pulled away in the tie-break.
After Potapova took a lengthy break at the end of the set, she made a fast start to the second and broke twice for a 3-0 lead.
The pair exchanged breaks before Potapova asserted her authority and cruised to victory, with a subdued Raducanu making a hasty exit.
Eyes had inevitably drawn towards the potential meeting with Sabalenka - but this loss was a sharp reminder of where Raducanu's level remains.
British qualifier Arthur Fery conceded his efforts in Melbourne had caught up with him as the 23-year-old's breakthrough Australian Open run was ended by Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
After coming through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw, Fery caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far by ousting Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli.
But the world number 186 lost a tight 79-minute opening set in a tie-break before going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-3 in the men's second round, ending his memorable first appearance in the main draw at an overseas major.
"I definitely felt that accumulation of matches today. When you lose that first set 7-6, it doesn't help mentally or physically," Fery said.
On what he would take from his tournament experience, he said: "A lot. Obviously tough to see it right now, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished in the past two weeks.
"It's probably my best result in my career so far and a stepping stone for 2026 and the future."
