One to forget for Raducanu as Jabeur eases to victory at Abu Dhabi Open
Emma Raducanu's bid to reach the last eight of the Abu Dhabi Open was ended in straight sets by world No 6 Ons Jabeur.
Britain's Raducanu has been making encouraging strides on her comeback after eight months out following surgery on her wrists and ankle.
The 21-year-old briefly pushed three-time grandslam finalist Jabeur in a close opening set.
But Tunisian Jabeur, runner-up at Wimbledon in the previous two years, was ultimately too strong in a 6-4 6-1 victory.
Raducanu dropped serve in the first game of the match and was soon a double break down at 5-1.
But the 2021 US Open champion gradually began to remind everyone of just how cleanly she strikes a ball at her best.
She saved three set points before breaking Jabeur's serve to trail 5-3, and then a gritty hold brought her to within one game.
However, Jabeur comprehensively held serve in the
the next to take the first set in 50 minutes.
The second seed converted a third break point to take the initiative at the start of the second set. This time Raducanu, who last reached a quarterfinal in September 2022, had no answer to the flurry of winners - Jabeur hit 35 in all - as she bowed out.
"It was a tough match," said Raducanu. "Ons is a difficult opponent so credit to her, she played really well and it's just a match that personally I need to forget about.
"She's a great opponent, she has amazing hand skills, makes life really hard for you on the court and especially with the balls which are really heavy. Her defensive skills are great and I think that's something I can improve on too." Raducanu added that she hopes to play at the Qatar Open in Doha next week.
Jabeur, 29, said in her oncourt interview. "She didn't make it easy for me, obviously.
"Emma is such an amazing player, I wish her all the best because I know she can play much better.
"Emma had an amazing experience at the US Open and everybody followed her. She's had an amazing career. Everyone has a different story, we struggle a lot, we go through a lot of things. But a lot of amazing women play on the tour."
British No 4 Heather Watson will take on Spain's Cristina Bucsa today, when top seed Elena Rybakina also returns to action against American Danielle Collins.
In Marseille, meanwhile, Felix Auger-aliassime produced a serving masterclass yesterday to reach the second round of the Open 13 Provence.
The Canadian enjoyed a 6-2, 7-5 victory against home favourite Quentin Halys.
“I love playing well here. I have great memories,” said Auger-aliassime, who plays Zhang Zhizhen in the second round. “Twice a finalist, so obviously I’ve won some matches here but didn’t go all the way to the end.
“Let’s see if I can be part of another final here, but the week is so young and there is still a lot of tennis to play.”
Tomas Machac, who beat former world No 1 Andy Murray in the first round earlier in the week, upset sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-2.