Emma Raducanu won't let heavy US Open loss damage positive momentum

Emma Raducanu serves to Elena Rybakina during the third round of the US Open tennis championships in New York

Emma Raducanu vowed not to let a chastening US Open loss at the hands of Elena Rybakina derail her positive momentum.

Raducanu had breezed through to the third round in New York, winning her first two matches for the loss of only six games, but here she was on the receiving end as former Wimbledon champion Rybakina powered to a 6-1 6-2 victory in just 62 minutes.

Raducanu was left feeling helpless in the face of the onslaught from her opponent, saying: "I thought Elena played very well, and I found it very difficult to get any sort of rhythm in the match.

"So, when I did have a ball, it was kind of hard for me to all of a sudden hit a quality shot, because so many of them were so deep or I didn't touch that many either. So it was just hard to really capitalise on the few moments that I had."

The loss brings to an end a season of what might have been for Raducanu at the grand slams, with the 22-year-old having failed to progress beyond the third round at any of them, having run into Iga Swiatek twice, Aryna Sabalenka and now Rybakina.

Against Swiatek and Rybakina, she has managed just seven games in three matches, while her clash with Sabalenka at Wimbledon was much closer and had inspired confidence that she could make this a contest.

Raducanu looked downcast walking off court but her form since the spring has been consistently strong, with the former US Open champion almost halving her ranking and, crucially, largely staying fit.

"I think it's going to be important to just look at the last few months as a whole and the improvements that I'm making, because a match like that can easily get you down if you let it," she said.

"So I'm going to try and not do that and regroup and just work hard and get ready for Asia.

"I've lost to Iga twice, Aryna, and Elena, so it's tough. But, at the same time, that's where I'm at with my ranking. I can play top opponents in the first, second, or third round.

"So I've just got to do my best in the next few months until Australia to just keep working to try and close the gap.

"I think, depending on the day, depending on how we match up, I'm getting better overall. So I just need to keep consistent and put this one behind me."

Coco Gauff was in tears during and after her second-round match but found a way through after seeking inspiration from a famous face in the crowd.

The former champion has been struggling with serving problems and is trying to change her action during the tournament with the help of biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan.

It is clearly putting a real strain on Gauff, who sat with her head in a towel after dropping serve at 4-4 in the first set of her clash with Donna Vekic, the TV cameras picking up the 21-year-old's tear-stained face.

Gauff recovered her composure to win 7-6 (5) 6-2 but broke down again during her post-match interview as the crowd showed their support.

"Today was a tough match for me but I'm just happy with how I was able to manage," she said. "It's been a rough couple of weeks. That first set was tough for me but you guys stayed cheering for me."

Gauff also gave credit to gymnastics great Simone Biles, who was watching from the stands.

Biles overcame a mental block known as 'twisties' at the Tokyo Olympics, recovering to win three gold medals in Paris last summer.

"I saw her, she helped me pull it out," said Gauff. "I was thinking, if she can go on a six-inch beam with all the pressures in the word, I can hit the ball in, I don't even know how big this court is. It brought me a bit of calm knowing all the things she went through mentally."

The American next faces Polish 28th seed Magdalena Frech, where she will hope to avoid the same drama.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz played down concerns over a knee problem after racing through to the fourth round of the men’s competition.

The Spaniard called for the trainer late in the second set of his clash with Italy's Luciano Darderi but then did not lose a single game, wrapping up a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory in just an hour and 44 minutes.

Alcaraz took a medical timeout, with the trainer massaging his thigh, but showed no ill effects thereafter, and said: "I am feeling good.

"I just felt something that is not working good in the knee but after five, six points it was gone. I just called the physio as a precaution. I'm not worried about it."

Alcaraz's biggest concern ahead of the match was an unusually early start time for him of 11.30am - a big change from his previous two matches, which were in the night session.

"I just tried to start awake," he said with a smile. "It's a schedule I'm not used to playing so my first goal was to start well, with a good rhythm. I think I did pretty well and after that just keep it going."

Alcaraz is yet to drop a set and will next take on unseeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who ended the run of his countryman Benjamin Bonzi.

Bonzi followed up his first-round win over Daniil Medvedev, which hit the headlines after a spectacular meltdown from the Russian, with another five-set win but ran out of steam against Rinderknech.

Click here to read article