Emma Raducanu came up short in her latest clash against Aryna Sabalenka, but there is no doubt that she is constantly improving with her three-set defeat at the Cincinnati Open showing she is closing the gap to the world No 1.
Meeting for the third time in their careers, Sabalenka stretched her head-to-head record against the British No 1 to 3-0 as she came away with a 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory in three hours and 10 minutes at the WTA 1000 event in Ohio.
But it was far from straightforward as Raducanu – who lost their two previous encounters in straight sets, including most recently in the fourth round at Wimbledon – took a set off the three-time Grand Slam winner for the first time.
Ultimately, it was Sabalenka’s ability to handle the crucial moments in the tie-breakers that were key to her success as Raducanu broke first in game two of the match, but the top seed hit back with two quickfire breaks before the Brit got back on serve.
Sabalenka, though, held her nerve in the tie-breaker before a single break of serve in game seven of the second set took the match to a decider.
The third set had no breaks of serve, but game eight on the Raducanu serve was a real humdinger as there were 13 deuces before the 22-year-old finally won the game, but Sabalenka again edged the tie-breaker.
“She’s world No 1 for a reason,” Raducanu said. “I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon, so that’s that’s an improvement.
“Also, it was good to have this result on a hard court because it’s very different to grass, and I’ve always thought grass suits me a lot more – and I still believe that.
“So to have pushed her on a hard court like that, I’m pretty proud.”
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The eighth game of the third set lasted 23 minutes and Raducanu acknowledges that there are certain areas of Sabalenka’s game that she can learn from.
The 22-year-old – who is now set to miss out on being seeded at the US Open as she is outside the top 32 in the Live Rankings added: “I think starting the point is a big takeaway.
“I think she did that incredibly well; in the big moments, she served and returned really well.
“I did too, in certain moments of the match, but to kind of hold that level on the starting point for the the whole match, I think that’s a big thing for me.”
There was praise from the defending champion and reigning US Open winner Sabalenka as well as she believes Raducanu is getting back to her best form following her slump after her 2021 US Open win.
The Brit won the New York Grand Slam in incredible fashion as a teenage qualifier and rose to No 10 in the WTA Rankings, but injury woes and poor form took its toll although she has started to make her way back up to No 39 in the rankings.
“As I said after Wimbledon, I’m really happy to see her healthy, mentally and physically,” the Belarusian said. “Every time she’s improving, and I can see that she’s getting back. I’m happy to see that, and I’m enjoying fighting against her.
“She’s such an incredible player, a really nice person and I’m super happy for her – and, of course, I’m happy to get through this difficult match.
“Three hours and 10 minutes… I really hope that tomorrow is a day off, otherwise I won’t be able to recover after such a great battle.”
