Emma Raducanu went tumbling out of the Madrid Open after suffering a 6-2 6-2 defeat by world No 82 Maria Lourdes Carle; Jack Draper through to second round; you can watch over 80 tournaments a year, including the US Open, exclusively live on Sky Sports Tennis
Thursday 25 April 2024 14:11, UK
Emma Raducanu's clay-court form took a dive at the Madrid Open on Wednesday as the Brit exited the tournament after a first-round straight-sets defeat by world No 82 Maria Lourdes Carle.
Raducanu came into the contest on a high after winning four of her last five matches following excellent performances in the Billie Jean King Cup for Great Britain and the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
But the Briton complained of "feeling tired" in the build-up to Madrid and she went out at the first hurdle to Carle 6-2 6-2 on Pista Arantxa Sanchez.
"I'm going to recharge a bit," Raducanu said after her defeat. "From the performance today it was very clear that mentally and emotionally, I was exhausted. It's a shame, but I guess the sport is just pretty brutal."
Playing with strapping around the front of her left knee, the 2021 US Open champion was viewed as a strong favourite against qualifier Carle.
But the 21-year-old, who endured an injury-hit 2023, produced an error-strewn display on the clay, winning just 13/26 first serve points and 2/14 on her second serve.
Carle, who beat a pair of Aussies - Taylah Preston and Astra Sharma - to reach her second-ever WTA 1000 main draw, broke Raducanu's serve six times to land her first WTA main-draw match win since 2022, and second-ever at a clay-court WTA event.
"[I am] a little bit shocked to be honest. The second set in particular, I just thought the body language from Emma was hard to understand," said former player Colin Fleming on Sky Sports Tennis.
"Even the break points at 4-1, it wasn't impossible to come back with the skillsets of the two players, but there wasn't an ounce of body language that said 'I believe I can come back or want to come back'.
"It was inevitable from there. Very strange! I know she's spoken about being tired and things, but on the match court, you go and give it everything you've got.
"And if you're not fit enough to play, you don't play.
"I don't think Emma gave it her all. She didn't compete, which was tough to watch. I have to say."
"It was a tough one. I don't think you can analyse the tennis because Emma the performer didn't show up today," said British Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong.
"And if any athlete doesn't show up ready to play, you don't really stand a chance.
"She got off to a slow start and was never able to regroup or find her way. Credit her opponent, who came out with fire and energy and she was the one who looked up for it and was ready for the fight.
"We talk a lot about head, heart and legs, and if your head and your heart aren't in it, your legs don't stand a chance.
"It was really disappointing to see. She said she was tired, but do you talk yourself into more tiredness?"
Former world No 1 Naomi Osaka posted her first clay-court win in two years after defeating lucky loser Greet Minnen 6-4 6-1.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will face Liudmila Samsonova in the second round for the second time this year.
But there was British cheer in the men's draw in Madrid on Wednesday as Jack Draper scratched his recent three-set itch in an impressive victory over Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis.
British No 2 Draper triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 and will now play Hubert Hurkacz in Friday's second round, the player who knocked him out of the Monte-Carlo Masters in three sets a fortnight ago.
"It was tough," Draper told Sky Sports. "I've lost a few 7-6s in the third recently.
"Kokkinakis is such an amazing player, he's had some great results throughout his career beating the likes of [Roger] Federer, so he can really play.
"So I'm really proud of the way I stepped up today in the key moments and this is what it's all about, learning from errors. I'm going to lose many more but hopefully I'll win some more too, so I'm really proud of the way I came through."
In an impressive show of sportsmanship in what proved the final game as Kokkinakis served to try and stay in the match, Draper told the umpire at 0-15 down that his opponent should be allowed to take his first serve again after the Australian faulted following a noise heard in the distance.
"I know Kokkinakis and I know a lot of the players now, so I know that if I was in that position and a loud noise goes off on a serve it's best to give them that second serve," explained Draper.
"He was kind of serving great anyway so I thought he's probably going to hit an ace or something. It's important to show some sportsmanship here and there, and it makes you feel better as well when you're playing."
British No 2 Harriet Dart followed Raducanu out of the tournament with a 6-4 6-4 defeat by Cristina Bucsa of Spain.
Sky Sports has confirmed a new home for tennis in the UK and Ireland, with Sky Sports Tennis on Sky and NOW, making tennis content available all day, every day for fans.
Sky Sports will broadcast more live tennis than anywhere else, bringing over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year on the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as full coverage of the US Open, all exclusively live.
Non-Sky subscribers can stream live matches with a NOW Sports Day and Month Membership, via Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports Arena, and Sky Sports Mix channels.
For further access, fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports app, on SkySports.com and via Sky Sports social channels.
Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, F1, England Cricket, Tennis and so much more.
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
Watch the WTA and ATP Tours throughout 2024 on Sky Sports Tennis. Stream Sky Sports Tennis and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership. No contract, cancel anytime.
