By Janina Nuno Rios
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ninth seed Elena Rybakina produced a ruthless display to end Emma Raducanu’s run at the U.S. Open, advancing to the fourth round for the first time with a 6-1 6-2 victory on Friday.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion, who had beaten Raducanu in their only previous meeting in 2022, struck early in both sets and never lost her focus as she sealed victory in 62 minutes.
“Yeah I’m really happy with the performance. It’s always not easy to play against Emma,” said the 26-year-old Rybakina.
“The score doesn’t show it but she’s a tough competitor. I’m pretty happy with the way I’m playing and I’m looking forward to the next match.”
Rybakina wasted no time imposing herself, breaking serve in the opening game with a number of clean returns before consolidating behind her own powerful delivery. She raced to a 3-0 lead, her ball-striking consistently pushing Raducanu onto the back foot.
The Briton, who had swept through her first two rounds without dropping serve, was repeatedly undone by errors and found no answers as Rybakina closed out the set.
The second set followed a similar script. Raducanu’s first service game slipped away with another flurry of mistakes, and Rybakina capitalised with a straightforward hold to consolidate.
The Kazakh landed just 47% of her first serves, yet Raducanu was unable to make any inroads against the second delivery. The 22-year-old briefly lifted the crowd by saving two break points, greeted by a loud cheer of encouragement.
But the reprieve was short-lived as Rybakina dragged her across the baseline before finishing the rally with a forehand winner out of reach, breaking again as Raducanu vented her frustration by swiping her racquet.
Rybakina then inched closer with an ace and sealed victory on the next point as Raducanu sent another shot long.
The defeat ended Raducanu’s most encouraging campaign at Flushing Meadows since she unexpectedly lifted the title in New York four years ago as a qualifier.
Rybakina will next face either 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova or Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini.
“It’s true, in the (past few) years it’s not been easy at the U.S. Open and I was not successful,” Rybakina added.
“I hope this year it will change. I’m really happy now that I’m getting through and hopefully I can go as far as possible.”
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New York)
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