Emma Raducanu succumbed to a shock defeat against Zhu Lin, the current world No 219, at the Ningbo Open in China. The former Grand Slam champion had taken the first set and looked poised for a comfortable victory against Zhu, only for her wildcard opponent to bounce back in splendid style.
Raducanu, who retired early from her Wuhan Open clash last week, once again required medical attention during the Tuesday afternoon clash, with the physios spotted checking her vitals. It’s a bitterly disappointing defeat for Raducanu, who has somewhat stuttered towards the end line this season.
It was an opening set defined by break points, with both competitors enjoying their fair share. Raducanu kicked it off in the second game of set one with a win against the serve to love, but the pair would share a further four break points before the Brit eventually wrapped up a lengthy and physical opener.
Three double faults and 11 unforced errors were a point of frustration for Raducanu – something that can probably be put down to a lack of sharpness. Her early retirement a week ago in Wuhan meant she hadn’t completed a full match this month heading into the clash against Zhu.
Perhaps the highlight of Raducanu’s opener was a strong forehand back across the court when it looked for all the money in the world that her opponent would snatch the sixth break point of the set. Minutes later, Raducanu was celebrating the first set point of the match and in cruise control.
Having been a little careless at times in the first, Raducanu was hoping to use the scrappy opener as a launchpad for a straight-sets win. Instead, the opposite played out, with Zhu taking the momentum gained from her performance and using it to keep the breaks of serve flowing.
The Chinese player had to work a little harder than it initially looked like it might’ve been for the set point, with Raducanu rallying to build a mini-comeback during the second. But a mid-set health scare saw Raducanu have her vitals checked by the physio, and while she did return to the court, Zhu took the remaining games needed to level things up at 1-1.
By the time the third set came around, the die was already cast and the pendulum had swung in favour of the lesser-ranked player. Not that you’d have guessed it from Zhu’s showings, as she danced across the court with ease and dealt with most of what Raducanu hit her way.
In truth, it felt like Raducanu somewhat gave up on the contest, as she failed to put a point on the board in any of the final three games. Lhu took the set 6-1, and will face talented teen Mirra Andreeva in the next round. Hong Kong is the next scheduled stop for Raducanu, who could desperately do with a confidence boost before the year is up.