Emma Raducanu pushes Aryna Sabalenka all the way in epic

Another indication of progress in Emma Raducanu’s return towards the top of women’s tennis, and a gutting miss all the same. The 22-year-old took Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1 and a triple grand-slam champion, to a deciding tie-break at the Cincinnati Open but couldn’t quite triumph. It was an epic defeat that should bridge the gap from past struggles to the realisation of her talent.

Raducanu described this as “like a fact-finding match so you can see where you are in comparison to the top”. The fact she found is that she can win a set against one of the world’s elite and almost two, in a 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) defeat. However, she is set to miss out on a seeding for the US Open this month, as she is projected to be at world No 34.

That there has been progress for ­Raducanu, to the extent that she was on the cusp of a grand-slam seeding, is undoubted. Since her run to the third round at ­Wimbledon and a two-hour fight with Sabalenka, Raducanu has ­continued to improve on the hard courts of North ­America.

Sabalenka was out of sorts, but Raducanu helped to cause some of that and hung around until the death. It was a world away from the straight-sets wiltings that left critics chastising her as the briefest of meteors.

In nine previous matches against Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, Raducanu had never won a set. She has at last taken one of them to a decider.

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“She’s No 1 for a reason and I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon, so that’s an improvement,” Raducanu said.

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“It was good to have this result on a hard court because it’s very different to grass and I was always thinking grass suits me a lot more, and I still believe that, so to have pushed her on a hard court like that I’m pretty proud of.”

At three hours and nine minutes, this was four minutes shy of the longest match of Sabalenka’s career, while Raducanu had only twice gone beyond that timeframe. “I’m really happy to see her healthy — mentally, physically,” Sabalenka, 27, said of Raducanu.

“Every time she’s improving and I can see that she’s getting back and I’m enjoying fighting against her.”

Sabalenka paid tribute to Raducanu and the “great battle” they shared — “I can see she’s getting back” REUTERS

Victories for British women over the world No 1 are rare, as Raducanu sought to emulate Johanna Konta against ­Angelique Kerber at Eastbourne in 2017. It was the second time in a month she had troubled the great Belarusian, having taken Sabalenka to a first-set tie-break at Wimbledon. Sabalenka is nigh unbeatable from 6-6 and twice again found her power and precision when most required.

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In temperatures above 30C, Raducanu won the opening two games of the match without dropping a point. After the utopian start, reality appeared as Sabalenka took the next four games, before Raducanu regained the lead at 5-4 and 6-5. She was hampered by five double faults in the opening set.

Roig signals his approval during another impressive performance from the British No1 GETTY

Raducanu is working with another new coach, having begun the Francisco Roig era against Olga Danilovic at the weekend. Roig worked with Rafael Nadal from 2005 to 2022 and now shouts “vamos” and “bravo” to the Bromley star.

The duo seemed intent on demonstrating their new partnership: Roig encouraged his charge after most points, near a TV microphone, and in the first set the umpire admonished Raducanu for approaching Roig, who had himself infringed by getting out of his seat to be nearer the court, for instruction.

Raducanu is at a projected No34 in the rankings GETTY

At Wimbledon, Sabalenka predicted that Raducanu would be “back in the top ten soon”. To realise that forecast, she will have to capitalise on the chances she creates — as she did with a break of serve at 3-3 in the second set. Roig had told her that if she won this set, the match would follow.

In the second, Raducanu made 82 per cent of her first serves while Sabalenka didn’t even manage half of hers, and the Briton won it with a wide, second-serve ace. By now Raducanu looked the more purposeful player, compared with the laboured champion over the net.

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The players edged through the decider, neither running away from the other. The astonishing eighth game, on Raducanu’s serve, featured 13 deuces and a brief discussion about whether a crying baby should be ejected from the stands. Raducanu eventually held her serve and, for the first time all day, celebrated heartily.

For those on the extreme wing of the anti-Raducanu brigade, the lack of ­top-ten opposition during her 2021 US Open triumph was the belittling factor in an unprecedented sequence of wins. Such victories continue to elude ­Raducanu, and such victories are the next item on her agenda, as she has beaten top-ten players on only three occasions.

Nevertheless, she will take great heart from this when she returns to Flushing Meadows, the scene of her title triumph four years ago, when the US Open begins a week on Sunday.

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