Disappointment: Emma Raducanu’s maiden French Open ended in a second-round defeat on day four
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Emma Raducanu has been ousted from the French Open in the second round after blowing a one-set lead against Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Roland Garros.
The British No1, 19, led her unseeded opponent 6-3 after an impressive start to proceedings on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Wednesday, but was powerless to prevent a superb fightback.
World No71 Sasnovich, who will not be eligible to compete at Wimbledon this summer due to the All England Club’s controversial ban on Belarusian and Russian players that led to the ATP and WTA stripping the tournament of its ranking points, controlled the contest thereafter, dominating the second set 6-1 and clinching the decider by the same scoreline.
The defeat marked a disappointing end to Raducanu’s maiden French Open campaign, with the reigning US Open champion having outlasted Czech teenager Linda Noskova in a thrilling contest in round one.
Raducanu is a newcomer to the clay, having only made her professional debut on the surface in a qualifier for the Billie Jean King Cup last month.
She subsequently reached the quarter-finals in Stuttgart and the third round in Madrid, but an injury-plagued season continued at the Italian Open last week as she was forced to retire from a first-round match against fellow former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu due to a back problem that raised doubts over her participation at Roland Garros.
Raducanu was also bested by Sasnovich in her first match after her fairytale Flushing Meadows success last year, going down in straight sets at Indian Wells. There are now no British women left in the singles draw, after Heather Watson and Harriet Dart were beaten in their first-round matches.
It was better news for the Brits on the men’s side of the draw, as Cameron Norrie moved into the last 32 with a comfortable straight-sets win over Jason Kubler.
The British number one, who won his first ATP title on clay last week in Lyon, sealed a 6-3 6-4 6-3 win over the Australian. Kubler briefly threatened a fightback in the third set as he moved 3-0 up, but Norrie then won six games in a row to set up a clash against 21st seed Karen Khachanov.
Dan Evans will be hoping to join him in the third round, when he plays Mikael Ymer on Thursday afternoon.
