World No 1 Iga Swiatek too strong for Emma Raducanu at Stuttgart Open
Emma Raducanu became the latest victim of the in-form Iga Swiatek as the world No 1 advanced to the semi-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Open in Stuttgart.
Swiatek extended her winning run to 21 matches with a 6-4, 6-4 victory, but was made to work hard by her teenage opponent. The result means Johanna Konta remains the last British woman to defeat a current world No 1. Konta beat Angelique Kerber at Eastbourne in 2017.
Playing in her first WTA event on clay, Raducanu lost her serve in the opening game of the match and Swiatek dropped just three points on serve to comfortably take the first set. Raducanu was also broken in the first game of the second set but broke back immediately to love, only to drop serve in the next game before leaving the court for a medical time-out.
Swiatek held serve comfortably when play resumed but had to save two break points in both the eighth and 10th games to seal victory against the US Open champion.
“I’m pretty happy that today’s match was longer because it’s going to give me a lot of experience,” said Swiatek.
“Playing here is never routine because the surface is really tricky.”
The only previous meeting between Swiatek and Raducanu had come in the quarter-finals of the girls’ singles at Wimbledon in 2018, when Swiatek won 6-0, 6-1.
Defeat for Raducanu means she has lost her two matches against opponents ranked higher than her since her shock US Open win, with this one following her 6-1, 6-0 defeat by Elena Rybakina at the Sydney Tennis Classic in January.
Reacting to the loss, former British No 1 Jo Durie wrote on Twitter: “A good contest but Swiatek a bit too good for Raducanu. What a 2nd serve at 5/4 15/40 from Iga. This will really help Emma in the coming clay court events. Good to see.”
Swiatek will meet the big-serving Russian Liudmila Samsonova in the semi-finals after she overcame home favourite Laura Siegemund.
Spain’s Paula Badosa faces Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the other semifinal.