Serena Williams lost in the opening-round match of what is likely the penultimate tournament of her career Tuesday, but she was still given a hero’s send-off following the 6-4, 6-0 defeat to Emma Raducanu at the Western & Southern Open.
On Tuesday, Williams struggled to find her rhythm. Raducanu, 19, played clean tennis throughout the match. Raducanu fired just one unforced error to go with eight winners in the first set, while Williams misfired on 12 unforced errors to go with 11 winners. Raducanu broke Williams twice in the opening set to build a quick 4-1 lead before Williams generated her first and only break point of the match. Williams converted to close the gap but Raducanu coolly served out the opening set after 39 minutes.
Moments after losing, Williams was given a standing ovation from the crowd and drew praise from her opponent on the court after the match.
“We all should honor Serena and her amazing career,” said Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion. “I’m so grateful for the experience to have been able to play her and for our careers to have crossed over. Everything she’s achieved is so inspirational. It was a true honor to share the court with her.”
It was a near-capacity crowd at the 11,435-seat Center Court on Tuesday, and there were chants heard and visible signs in support of Williams until the final point. In addition to her family, including four-year-old daughter Olympia, in the crowd, four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who lost earlier in the day, was also in attendance.
Naomi Osaka has lost her first-round match with Zhang Shuai 6-4 7-5 and has been dumped out of the Cincinnati Open at the round of 64 stage. It’s the first time Osaka has lost her opening match at back-to-back tournaments since Canada and Cincinnati in 2018. “She’s maybe not really feeling good today, not her best day,” Zhang said after the match.
Williams is expected to play in her final tournament at the US Open, which begins in New York on Aug. 29. She is a six-time champion at the event, and reached the semifinals in her last appearance in 2020. She reached the final in 2018 and 2019.
The British teenager continued the dominant form she’d showed in the first round against Serena Williams; the former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka didn’t hold serve until the fifth game of the second set; Emma Raducanu will now take on American Jessica Pegula in the round of 16
Emma Raducanu ruthlessly dismissed former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-0 6-2 at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Raducanu displayed a steely focus and outstanding concentration to keep her foot on the gas for two sets. She wasn’t fazed by Azarenka’s bathroom break after the first set and will now take on American Jessica Pegula in the round of 16.