Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka both lose in US Open first round matches on Saturday.
Emma Raducanu has reached the third round of the US Open, losing to Karolina Pliskova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Naomi Osaka has been eliminated by Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5, 6-4.
Here’s the complete US Open first round results:
Karolina Pliskova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Karolina Pliskova won six consecutive games until losing to Naomi Osaka on Sunday afternoon. The two-time Grand Slam champion showed her best strength in rallies. She fought hard, but came up just short, as she lost to Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Osaka went down in a set in round two.
Inevitably, this is the same result a player like the 19-year-old Raducanu would face against her in a major. She is the favorite to win the US Open, and would be the likely winner of the tournament had she won it last year.
Raducanu, seeded No. 13, has made her name in America, winning the 2016 Australian Open women’s doubles title. She’s also had three wins in the prestigious Toray Pan Pacific Open. She made her Grand Slam debut here as a wild-card entrant in the 2017 US Open. She was No. 38 in the world at the beginning of this season, and has had a great season, with five wins.
At least, we know what we’re going to get. The last two Grand Slam quarterfinalists have gone out in the first round of major tournaments, Raducanu in 2017 and Osaka in 2016. However, it is not entirely shocking for Raducanu to fall to her first-round opponent Osaka in the first Grand Slam opening match this season.
Here’s how Raducanu played against Osaka on Sunday:
Raducanu began with a solid ground game, and took the first set easily. That set, as you can see below, was a battle on clay.
In the second set, Raducanu came to the fore, and took the set with ease. Osaka also went up a break in the second
