Emma Raducanu is refusing to be too critical of herself after crashing out in the second round of the Australian Open because of her injury-ravaged preparation for the tournament.
According to The Guardian, British 28th seed had been hoping to set up another meeting with the world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka but she faded from a promising position and fell to a 7-6 (3), 6-2 defeat against Anastasia Potapova.
She said, “I don’t want to give myself too much of a hard time because I know my preparation going into this tournament. I have to leave with my head held high because of the matches I’ve had here. I didn’t even know at the beginning if I would be coming to Australia, so it’s a positive in that sense.”
The Britain started well against the world No 55, establishing a 5-3 lead, but was never comfortable in windy conditions.
“It was one of those you’re 5-3 up, but you’re not feeling particularly good, and you’re trying to tough out every point however you can. It’s not the way that I want to really be playing. It got me in the lead. I just didn’t feel like I could scrap the whole match,” the 23-year-old added.
Raducanu failed to find her top level throughout her three weeks in Australia, particularly the quality of her serve and forehand, which she believes is a consequence of her less than ideal buildup
