Indian Wells: Emma Raducanu out as Aliaksandra Sasnovich moves on to Simona Halep
- No dream third round meeting with idol Simona Halep for British No 1 as she loses to world No 100 Aliaksandra Sasnovich
- Teenager looked rusty on return to court with a number of unforced errors sealing second round defeat
US Open singles champion Emma Raducanu’s return to the court after making history in New York ended in defeat to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Indian Wells.
A rusty Raducanu will miss out on playing her idol Simona Halep in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open after losing 6-2, 6-4 to the Belarusian world No 100.
Raducanu had won the US Open as a qualifier and without dropping a set but she dropped the opening set in California on her return to action.
The No 17 seed, who had been given a bye in the first round of the “fifth grand slam”, started the match with a series of unforced errors and struggled on her serve throughout.
She found herself unable to wrest control from Sasnovich despite the backing of the California crowd. Even when Raducanu did show signs of a fight, her luck ran out such as when she had battled back from 0-40 down to see the ball hit the net and loop out.
The teenager managed to save one set point but Sasnovich won the set on her second set point, winning with another excellent lob as Raducanu failed to finish off a point with a volley.
Raducanu could face idol Halep or China No 1 at Indian Wells
World No 22 Raducanu looked anything but the confident figure of the US Open in the opening set as she hit wayward shots from deep behind the baseline and slumped in her chair between points.
She started the second set much the brighter, even if Sasnovich edged the first game, which ran on well over eight minutes.
Raducanu – already a crowd favourite at 18 and so early on in her pro career – was cheered on when she won her next service game. She won just five of 21 points on her second serve and had four double faults in the match.
The British No 1 and her supporters could not believe two close calls in succession, which saw Sasnovich draw level at 2-2 but Raducanu rallied and was soon 4-2 up.
That did not last long. Sasnovich soon levelled and was 40-0 up in the ninth game with three break points. She broke and then served out to win the match after winning the final four games of the set.
For Raducanu, defeat damages her hopes of ending her remarkable debut season at the WTA Finals while Sasnovich was delighted with her win.
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“I really enjoy playing here,” said Sasnovich after her victory. “Emma just won the US Open and I lost there in the first round. So it was a little bit different.”
The Belarusian, a former world No 30 in singles, reached the doubles semis in New York last month.
