‘No excuses’ – Emma Raducanu equals unwanted Australian Open hammering record

Iga Swiatek handed Emma Raducanu the joint-heaviest defeat of her career in their Australian Open third-round meeting.

It was a one-sided affair as the second seed beat Great Britain’s Raducanu 6-1 6-0.

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It was the same result as Raducanu’s previous heaviest defeat of all time against Elena Rybakina in Sydney three years ago.

Raducanu dropped his serve five times, allowing Swiatek to secure the 78th bagel of his senior career – a term used to describe a 6-0 set.

Swiatek is now scheduled to meet Eva Lys, who is ranked number 128, in the fourth round.

“I think she played very well, but I also think I didn’t play very well, so it’s just not a great combination,” the world said no. 61 Raducanu.

“Of course, if a top player plays perfectly, it will already be a difficult match. And yes, I just want to work on certain things and make them better and more consistent.”

She added: “Obviously the scoreline was pretty tough. I’m very aware of what happened out there. If I’m not necessarily able to hold my service games or dictate, I feel like that seeps into the rest of my game .

“On my second serves, how the point is structured from then on, and in the return games you feel a lot more pressure. That was probably a big aspect today.”

Raducanu had advanced to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career with straight sets wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, and Amanda Anisimova.

It was a tough game, but Raducanu showed a fighting spirit that seemed to be lacking in points last season.

As a five-time Grand Slam champion, Swiatek was odds-on going into the match with former US Open champion Raducanu.

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Swiatek has never been past the Melbourne semi-finals, but her latest performance was a warning sign for rivals.

After her win, she said: “I felt great. I felt like the ball was listening to me. So just pretty loosened up. In the end I felt like all the tactics and everything I wanted to do, I was capable of. So I just kept going.”

Swiatek is missing another set or even a service game in the contest.

Raducanu should take solace in playing three grueling games despite suffering back spasms in the preseason.

However, she was in no mood to blame her long-term injury problems.

“There are no excuses with the back or physically,” said Raducanu, who only started hitting again three weeks ago.

“Given the preparation we had, we have to be grateful to be in this position.”