A great step forward despite Cincinnati loss: Raducanu

CINCINNATI • There is no obvious women's singles favourite heading into the US Open after defending champion Emma Raducanu, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and second seed Anett Kontaveit all saw their preparations for the final Grand Slam of the year cut short at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday.

Britain's Raducanu had beaten 23-time Slam champion Serena Williams and two-time Major winner Victoria Azarenka in the previous two rounds here, but was brought down to earth with a bump in a 7-5, 6-4 loss to American seventh seed Jessica Pegula.

Since becoming the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a Slam, the 19-year-old still has not won another title on the WTA Tour and has not earned more than two match victories in a row.

But despite a frustrating year - her first full one on the women's circuit - Raducanu feels she is swinging freely again and can play the same brand of attacking tennis that took her to the title at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set.

"This week was a great step for me," she said on Thursday.

"In the past year, it's probably like the first tournament or like one of the few tournaments that I have actually, like started going for my shots more.

"This week, I kind of just was like, 'Look, I'm just going to try, I don't care if I make errors, like it's fine, but I'm just going to like overhit if anything'.

"I'm pretty proud of how I did this week, and I think it's a great step to move forward."

While Raducanu is feeling more positive, her form remains patchy and there are signs Swiatek's game has also become more inconsistent lately, following a 37-match unbeaten run lasting five months until her third-round exit at Wimbledon in July.

The top-ranked Pole remains one of the women to watch at the US Open with 40 wins from her past 43 matches, but her serve has not been at her best recently.

Swiatek exited a second straight tournament at the last-16 stage, after last week's Canadian Open, falling 6-3, 6-4 to Madison Keys, with the American breaking the favourite five times and creating 14 break-point chances.

In Toronto, the two-time French Open champion struggled with the wind and in Cincinnati, she complained about the tennis balls, saying: "I think the balls are horrible, especially after like three games of really hard playing, they are getting more and more light."

Both the ATP and WTA use the same balls at every event, except for the North America swing, including the US Open, which has women using lighter balls - a problem for Swiatek as a heavy hitter.

World No. 2 Kontaveit also slumped to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat by China's Zhang Shuai, with the Estonian yet to win a title since St Petersburg in February.

REUTERS