"For the better part of two hours on court at the China Open against one of the toughest possible opponents, Emma Raducanu's varied, steadily improving game was in full flow. She seemed to be moving confidently towards one of the most impressive victories of her career. When it was time to close out victory against the world No 7 Jessica Pegula, however, Raducanu simply crumbled under pressure."
"Having put herself in a winning position, Raducanu did not do much wrong on her match points. Pegula saved the first two with two astounding backhand down-the-line winners from defensive positions before injecting pace into a forehand to force a Raducanu error on the third. After leading 5-2 in the tie-break, Raducanu's most significant error was a double fault at 5-4. Although she immediately recovered from it, Pegula clearly gained confidence from her opponent's nerves."
Emma Raducanu produced varied, steadily improving tennis for most of the China Open match against world No 7 Jessica Pegula, using backhand slice, variation and defensive skills to disrupt Pegula's rhythm. Raducanu served precisely and struck her forehand well, winning the second set and reaching match point in the tiebreak. She failed to convert three match points, with Pegula saving two via backhand winners and forcing an error on the third, and a pivotal double fault at 5-4 shifted momentum. Raducanu lost 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-0, marking a second consecutive match where multiple match-point advantages evaporated.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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