Emma Raducanu did not have 'enough fire' in straight-sets loss to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Indian Wells
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ByEurosport
Updated 09/10/2021 at 08:57 GMT
“There are a number of combinations," Former Fed Cup captain Keothavong said on Amazon Prime. "You can put it down to expectations, you can put it down to three weeks, different tournament, different circumstances, different conditions, it was never going to be easy and Sasnovich made life tough for Emma."
Emma Raducanu
Image credit: Getty Images
Emma Raducanu was lacking fire in her loss to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Indian Wells, according to Anne Keothavong who has urged the US Open champion to “chill and calm down.”
Raducanu caused a huge stir when becoming the first British woman to win a grand slam since Virginia Wade in 1977 when lifting the US Open in September.
The teenager has gone from relative unknown to one of the biggest names in the sport in a matter of weeks.
Her first appearance since the US Open came at Indian Wells, and ended in disappointment with a 6-2 6-4 loss to Sasnovich.
The hallmark of Raducanu’s US Open campaign was consistent excellence, but it was the polar opposite in the California desert as there were far too many errors on show.
Britain’s former Fed Cup captain Keothavong was not surprised to see Raducanu stumble, and urged the 18-year-old to take time out and refocus.
“There are a number of combinations," Keothavong said on Amazon Prime. "You can put it down to expectations, you can put it down to three weeks, different tournament, different circumstances, different conditions, it was never going to be easy and Sasnovich made life tough for Emma.
“She got into a good position, she led 4-2 in the second set but she played a terrible service game to allow Sasnovich make into it and never quite get a foothold into it and it was just error after error after error, the body language and the shoulders were slumped, not enough fire in Emma.
“She just needs to go off and chill and calm down. It is going to be a tough one to take for her, she would have had high expectations herself, the confidence, wanting to show everyone what she was capable of, but it is back to the drawing board.
“She is still new to all of this, she still has a number of tournaments left before the end of the season so there is time to pick things up again, work on her game.
“She knows inside she could have done better, she could have had better presence, but maybe one not to overthink.”
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