Emma Raducanu remains positive but has ‘no excuses’ after Australian Open round | Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu says she is leaving Melbourne positive about her progress and development despite suffering the biggest defeat of her grand slam career to Iga Swiatek, no. 2 seed, in the third round of the Australian Open.

“Three weeks ago when I was in Auckland, at the end of last year, I was doing pool rehab. I think being on a tennis court and playing matches and competing is something I have to be grateful for for. I started hitting when I came here 18 days ago. I have to look at it positively that I was able to beat two top opponents in the first two rounds,” said Raducanu.

“But today, no excuses from the back or physically. I didn’t play well. She played very well. Considering the preparation we had, we have to be grateful to be in this position. I obviously have a lot of things to take as feedback and work on.”

Raducanu had reached the third round in Melbourne for the first time in her career with two solid wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, and Amanda Anisimova. However, Swiatek proved a step too far as she was completely dominant throughout her 6-1, 6-0 win over Raducanu. From 1-1 in the opening set, Swiatek rolled through 11 consecutive games to take the match after annihilating Raducanu’s first and second serves while completely overpowering the Briton with her far superior pace and shot weight.

“Today the position was quite tough,” said Raducanu. “I feel like I look back and know exactly what to do, and I take that as feedback. I am very aware of what happened out there. The score line reflects one thing. If I’m not necessarily able to hold my service games or kind of dictate, I feel like that seeps into the rest of my game.”

Swiatek, a five-time grand slam champion, has built a reputation for his tendency to completely dominate quality players, often inflicting 6-0 and 6-1 on his rivals. Swiatek insists her dominance isn’t personal.

“I wouldn’t say I’m reckless. I just try to have the same attitude and the same kind of focus no matter what the score is. But it’s not like I’m trying to show anything. I’m just playing my game. If that works, why stop? I’ve seen a lot of games come back (after) being down 2-5 or something. You always have to keep going. It’s not over until it’s over,” Swiatek said .