Monday 1 November 2021 06:57, UK
Emma Raducanu suffered a 6-2 6-1 quarter-final defeat at the hands of fellow teenager Marta Kostyuk, ending her hopes of a title at the Transylvania Open.
Prior to this week Raducanu - the US Open champion in September - had never won a WTA Tour level match, but she had made it two in three days with victories over Ana Bogdan and Polona Hercog before Kostyuk proved a bridge too far.
Raducanu was broken in her first game, and the powerful Ukrainian - one year older than the British No 1 at 19 - was in inspired form to power her way through to the last four in just 57 minutes.
Kostyuk will now face top seed Simona Halep, the Romanian who Raducanu had cited as an inspiration after speaking with the two-time Grand Slam champion prior to the tournament's start last weekend.
Raducanu, who has been accompanied by her father this week as her search for a coach continues, will head off to visit her grandmother who lives in Romania after a week that has seen her make more strides in her fledgling career despite the disappointing nature of Friday's defeat.
Raducanu had rallied from a set down to win her opener against Hercog earlier in the week, but she had no answer to the clean hitting of Kostyuk, who showcased all the skills that have seen her make her own mark on the WTA Tour as a teenager.
The world no 55 rallied from 15-40 down to claim the first game as a couple of Raducanu double faults - errors that were to become common - reared their head early on.
With her nerves steadied Raducanu fashioned a couple of chances to break back, first at 2-1 down and again - in more clear-cut fashion - at 3-2 down when she had break points. But Kostyuk's powerful ground strokes were supplemented by a classy touch as she reeled off three straight points for a 4-2 lead.
Having held off the break, Kostyuk was handed a second break of her own when Raducanu dumped a forehand into the net and the Ukrainian served out a one-sided set in just half an hour.
It was more of the same in the second as Raducanu wilted. More double faults handed her opponent the initiative in the opening game for a second time, and with the freedom of a set and a break lead Kostyuk had too much for her younger opponent.
Raducanu won just one more game but saved her best tennis for the final game of the match. She mixed a string of winners with errors to hold off three match points and force a couple of game points of her own, but Kostyuk was too good, too often and sealed her place in the last four when Raducanu's forehand flew wide.
Halep was a comfortable 6-1 6-1 winner over compatriot Jaqueline Cristian, who had captured the imagination by dressing in a vampire for the tournament in Transylvania.
Making up the last four in Cluj are Estonia's in-form second seed Anett Kontaveit and Sweden's Rebecca Peterson, who will meet in the other semi-final.
Kontaveit took her indoor winning streak to 13 with a 6-3 6-1 win over Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina, and she remains on course for a third title in six weeks having been victorious in Ostrava and Moscow.
Peterson will aim to put a stop to Kontaveit's run after a three-set win over another Ukrainian, Lesia Tsurenko - but Kontaveit has the dual aim of the title and a place at the year-end WTA Finals in her sights after Ashleigh Barty's withdrawal.
Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/tennis, our Twitter account @skysportstennis & Sky Sports - on the go! Available to download now on - iPhone & iPad and Android
