Emma Raducanu loses to Jessica Pegula in straight sets as her Cincinnati Masters run is abruptly ended and attention turns to her US Open defense
- American Jessica Pegula beat Emma Raducanu 7-6, 6-4 at the Cincinnati Masters
- Pegula broke the Briton’s serve at 5-5 in the first set and at 2-1 in the second
- Pegula halted the US Open champion’s momentum with her defense this month
- Raducanu is yet to defeat a top-10 player in the world at any point in her career
Emma Raducanu’s preparation for her US Open title defense has stuttered after a 7-5, 6-4 third round loss to Jessica Pegula at the Cincinnati Masters.
In the first meeting between Raducanu and Pegula, the latter was far too strong.
In disposing of the current US Open champ, Pegula proceeds to the quarter finals where she will face France’s Caroline Garcia.
Emma Raducanu failed to produce in key moments during her third round loss in Cincinnati
Jessica Pegula performed strongly as the top-ranked American at the Cincinnati Masters
Critically, the American broke Raducanu’s serve with scores tied at 5-5 in the first set. The Buffalo native went on to close out the first and built on her performance in the second and final set.
Pegula broke the Briton in her second service game of the final set before holding her serve throughout to cruise to victory.
Raducanu came into Thursday night with momentum after already accounting for 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.
The 19-year-old defeated Williams 6-4, 6-0 in the round of 64 before disposing of Azarenka 6-0, 6-2 in the following round.
Notwithstanding the result, Raducanu will arrive at Flushing Meadows with plenty of hype around her as defending champion.
For the 19-year-old, attention now turns sharply onto her US Open defense in New York
Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open era last year
Undoubtedly, the Brit will look to draw upon her last visit to the US Open as inspiration.
Raducanu entered the 2021 US Open draw as a qualifier before sensationally failing to drop a set until the semi-finals.
The Canadian-born teenager went on to advance to the final, before defeating Leyleh Fernandez 6-4, 6-3.
In doing so, she became the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open era.
The latest iteration of the Open will likely be more challenging for Raducanu, who is yet beat a top-10 player in the world.
To repeat the feat, she’ll likely need to create history one more time.
Pegula now leads the head-to-head with Raducanu 1-0 after the pair’s first-ever meeting
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