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Raducanu’s US Open title defense ends with loss to Cornet

NEW YORK: Maybe Emma Raducanu was simply trying to lower others’ expectations or make things easier on herself when she scoffed at the idea that there might by any pressure on her as she returned to the site of her remarkable out-of-nowhere run to the 2021 US Open championship. Sure sounded so when she declared, shortly before the start of play at Flushing Meadows: “I think defending a title is just something that the press makes up.” Either way, her follow-up trip to New York did not last long. Raducanu became just the third woman in the professional era to lose in the first round one year after winning the US Open title, bowing out 6-3, 6-3 against Alizé Cornet on Tuesday night.

Defending champion Emma Raducanu crashes out in first round of US Open

The 11th seeded Briton becomes the first defending US Open champion to lose in the first round since Germany's Angelique Kerber in 2017. Raducanu captivated the sporting world when she became the first qualifier to claim a Grand Slam title, winning 10 matches in New York without dropping a set, catapulting her career into the stratosphere and making her one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.

Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek advance at US Open; Elena Rybakina, Venus Williams crash out

World number one and French Open champion Swiatek eased past Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-0 in just 67 minutes. Victory was a relief for the 21-year-old Pole who had suffered early losses at warm-up events in Toronto and Cincinatti. "In matches, being a little bit stressed and tight, it can get a little bit worse, but still, I feel like my level is just better," said Swiatek who next faces 2017 champion Sloane Stephens. "We'll see if I'm going to hold on to that." Alcaraz, the 19-year-old world number four, was made to sweat by battling Sebastian Baez, winning the first two sets 7-5, 7-5 before the Argentine retired injured 0-2 down in the third.

US Open 2022: Defending Champion Emma Raducanu Crashes Out In 1st Round vs Alize Cornet

Defending champion Emma Raducanu of Britain was sent crashing out of the US Open in the first round on Tuesday, losing in straight sets to France's Alize Cornet. Eleventh seed Raducanu became only the third women's defending champion in history to lose in the first round as Cornet crafted a scintillating performance to seal a deserved 6-3, 6-3 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium. The 32-year-old Frenchwoman, ranked 40th in the world, drew on all her experience to outfox the 19-year-old Raducanu, boldly pulling off a string of exquisite drop shots at key moments to set up the victory.