After a challenging match against the adolescent Coco Gauff on Wednesday, the No. 1 seed for the United Kingdom, Emma Raducanu, was ousted from the Australian Open in the second round.
The match was a duel of wits and power that featured moments of brilliance and a plethora of mistakes from both players. It was Raducanu's maiden attempt to defeat a top-ten player.
Gauff is ranked 70 places higher than the former US Open champion, who fell 6-3, 7-6 despite playing more forcefully as the match went on and had two set points late in the second set (7-4).
Gauff received high praise from Raducanu, who said of her, "She is a tremendous mover, a great athlete. You feel like you need to squeeze the ball closer to the line as a result of her adding another ball into the mix, and she uses it as a technique to tease errors out of you. She's a good athlete, in my opinion. One of her assets is it.
“I think that we’re going to be playing each other many times in the future as we’re both young, up and coming. We’re going to be the next generation.”
Gauff is one of the favourites to win the event, despite being over a year younger than her adversary. This is because Gauff has gained much experience through a more methodical ascent up the rankings.
On her way out for her Laver debut on an overcast day in Melbourne, Raducanu taped her left ankle again.
Although she was down 0-30 in her first service game, she returned to hold. In the third game, as the two players settled into a compelling matchup between two of the brightest stars in women’s tennis, Gauff was forced to preserve a couple of break points with some big serving.
The American, who made it to her first Grand Slam final at last year’s French Open, broke for 3-1, but she promptly gave it back to the British player after serving a double fault.
It looked like Raducanu was going for Gauff’s forehand, but Gauff was having trouble connecting with her forehands, leading to a 4-2 advantage for her opponent.
The 18-year-old continued his dominant play by holding serve for the third straight game, bringing him closer to securing the opening set.
Gauff, who had just won the Adelaide International before flying to Melbourne, faced three break points while serving for the set but came through with a booming ace.
As a result of Raducanu’s aggressive pressing, Gauff committed 21 unforced errors, which led to a 0-21 deficit.
Gauff got a breakpoint in the second set after a double fault by Raducanu, who walked back to her chair clutching her left abdominal muscle after committing her second such error.