Emma Raducanu’s miserable coachless run continued as she lost in straight sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova, the same Russian she had defeated in the opening round of last month’s Australian Open. The shape of the match, in which Raducanu led 3-1 in both sets before going down by a 6-3, 7-5 scoreline, pointed to a woman short of confidence. Meanwhile the pattern of the rallies, which found her hitting up and down the court without much variation, suggested a player who lacked strategic direction. In a contest which hinged on just a couple of points, the lack of a coach at courtside was again a significant disadvantage.
Raducanu’s post-Australian Open run has been demoralising, featuring three successive defeats in matches where she was generally in touch, but failed to find a killer blow. These are strong tournaments, especially the two she has just contested in the Middle East: Abu Dhabi and Doha. And things are unlikely to get much easier if she plays Dubai, the next stop on the big names’ calendar, in just over a week’s time.
Perhaps there is a case for entering some less glamorous events, just to pick off a couple of weaker players and rediscover some momentum. Raducanu has set out to enter a lot of tournaments this season, in the hope of building up physical endurance. But why do they all have to be the cream of the calendar?. There have been times in the past when Raducanu seemed to avoid playing qualifying on the grounds that it might be bad for the brand, especially if she lost to a nobody. But she appears to have got over that issue, judging by the fact that she entered qualifiers in Abu Dhabi just over a week ago – even if some late withdrawals meant that she was eventually fast-tracked into the main draw in any case.
A few less demanding matches would help her to fine-tune the elements of her game that are misfiring, especially a serve which has coughed up 35 breaks in her past seven outings. It’s understood that Raducanu’s recent determination to play a lot of events has led directly to the absence of her former coach Nick Cavaday, who has a chronic health condition that prevents him spending too much time on the road.
Cavaday’s absence has clearly had a destabilising effect, yet Raducanu’s sequence of powerful opponents – last week it was former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova; this week Alexandrova, who was coming off a WTA title in Linz – means that she isn’t getting the volume of match-play she is looking for either. In many ways, it is the worst of both worlds. As for Alexandrova, she admitted in her on-court interview that she had come out looking to avenge her 7-6, 7-6 loss to Raducanu in Melbourne last month. “I was looking forward to this match because last match we played it was really close and really difficult,” said Alexandrova. “I was really upset after that match, so when I saw the draw, I thought maybe it’s gonna be my chance. I’m really happy with the win, especially after what happened at the Australian Open.”.
Ultimately it took Raducanu too long to get going. Oddly passive in the first set she gathered herself in the second and her serve was much improved but Alexandrova played the clutch points better than the British No 2, who appears to be struggling for confidence more than anything. She squandered 3-1 leads in both sets and will be kicking herself for not imposing her game on her opponent more. Raducanu has it all to do now but Alexandrova’s serve has been far from impregnable – she has been broken five times.
Can Raducanu break her again?. A long rally of deep shots and good variety by Raducanu is spoilt by a lucky net cord from Alexandrova that leads to the Briton finding the net. Alexandrova goes wide for 15-15 and then misses with her first serve. Raducanu hits a fierce return and the Russian can’t keep it in. It’s 15-30 but Raducanu goes long with her return. 30-30. And Alexandrova hits a clever passing shot which leaves Raducanu statuesque. Match point Alexandrova.
But this time it’s the Russian who goes long and Raducanu clenches her fists. The Russian dominates the next rally and Raducanu offers some good defence only to overhit her approach shot to hand Alexandrova another match point. Closing it out 👊. Ekaterina Alexandrova beats Raducanu in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/9KkklYVexj. And Raducanu goes long again and the game, and the match, is up.
Alexandrova wins the match. It’s getting really tight now but both players are raising their game and hitting thunderous groundstrokes. A brilliant forehand crosscourt pass from the Russian puts Raducanu under pressure to bring up 30-30. The quality of the tennis is much-improved and Alexandrova is in the zone now, melting a huge crosscourt pass to break Raducanu at a crucial moment in the match. Alexandrova breaks serve.
