After humiliating the American tennis legend Serena Williams in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, British number one Emma Raducanu was able to throw a damper on Serena Williams’ farewell tour.
Williams, who will be 40 next year, has said that she will end her professional tennis career after the US Open, which begins on August 29. She competed in what is likely to be the last tournament of her career and was defeated 6-4, 6-0.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner was not as sharp as her opponent, who is just 19, and she was penalised for it by her opponent’s controlled showing.
In the second round of the US Open, reigning champion Raducanu will face off against Victoria Azarenka.
“I’m really happy for the chance to have been able to play Serena and for our careers to have crossed over,” said Raducanu, who is ranked thirteenth in the world and who performed exceptionally well despite the fact that she was preparing to defend her Grand Slam title in New York.
It was a privilege to be on the court at the same time as her because the things she has accomplished are so motivating, and it was fun to compete alongside her.
In the meanwhile, the number two player for the British men’s team, Dan Evans, was defeated by Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-4.
Evans, who is 32 years old, played well enough to go to the semifinals of the ATP Masters tournament in Montreal the week before, but he was unable to keep up that level of play in London.
On Wednesday, at 16:00 British Summer Time (BST), fellow Britons Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie will compete against one another in the second round. This will be followed by Raducanu’s match versus Azarenka of Belarus, who was once ranked number one in the world.