Beating Serena gives Raducanu huge lift

CINCINNATI • Britain's Emma Raducanu said her victory over 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams at the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday has given her confidence a boost just ahead of her US Open title defence.

Teenager Raducanu, who has not won a tournament since capturing last year's title at Flushing Meadows as a 150th-ranked qualifier, put in a dominant display against Williams, wrapping up a 6-4, 6-0 win in just over an hour.

American Williams announced her forthcoming retirement last week, saying she was "evolving away from tennis", before suffering an early exit at the Canadian Open.

Raducanu, 19, described being drawn against Williams as a "gift".

"(It) may be one of the last opportunities I get to play her," she said. "You have to cherish the moment, and you're going to have this memory for the rest of your career."

"Playing Serena and managing to win, I'm obviously really proud of myself, and it does give me confidence," she added.

"Each of those wins kind of builds confidence regardless of the level you're playing, every single win counts. But, of course, this one more so, because you're playing like the greatest.

"But I'm not trying to get too high or too low right now."

Raducanu next faces another Grand Slam winner in Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, and the Briton said that it was another opportunity for her to learn from "a great champion".

Williams has just one pro event left before the US Open, where she will have one last chance to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

The 40-year-old left the court swiftly after the defeat without speaking to TV reporters and did not hold a press conference.

Earlier in the day, Naomi Osaka's US Open preparations also suffered another setback as the former world No. 1 was swept aside 6-4, 7-5 by China's Zhang Shuai.

It was Osaka's third tournament back from an Achilles tendon injury and it has been a stuttering return to action for the two-time US Open champion, who also exited in the opening round in Toronto last week, retiring with lower back pain.

French Open finalist Coco Gauff, meanwhile, retired while trailing Czech Marie Bouzkova 7-5, 1-0 after rolling her ankle in the first set.

But there were no such issues for men's world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who looked like he had a point to prove as he got preparations for his US Open title defence back on track with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday.

The Russian had been building momentum ahead of the year's last Grand Slam by winning a tune-up event in Los Cabos without dropping a set but was beaten by Nick Kyrgios in the second round of the Canadian Masters last week.

He said: "I should have done a little bit better on my serve. But the first match is tricky and... hopefully I will raise my level in the next matches."

Medvedev will face either American Tommy Paul or Canada's Denis Shapovalov in the next round.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Day 4: Session 1 (11pm) & 2 (tomorrow, 3am) - StarHub Ch201