Emma Raducanu Slumps To Straight-sets Defeat In Transylvania Open Final

Emma Raducanu missed nan chance to triumph her first title since her US Open triumph successful 2021 aft losing successful consecutive sets to location favourite Sorana Cirstea successful nan Transylvania Open final.

Top seed Raducanu appeared to beryllium emotion nan effects of her marathon semi-final triumph against Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova connected Friday, losing retired to Cirstea 6-0, 6-2 successful small complete an hr successful Cluj.

Romanian Cirstea, 35 and successful her last twelvemonth connected nan Tour, sealed nan 4th WTA title of her 20-year career.

Raducanu, whose begetter is Romanian, was pushed to nan limit successful her last-four conflict against Oliynykova 24 hours earlier and had nary answers against Cirstea’s large hitting.

The British No 1 came nether early pressure, yet losing her opening work crippled having saved 5 break points, and she went connected to suffer nan opening group without winning a crippled successful conscionable 30 minutes.

A struggling Emma Raducanu has a aesculapian timeout successful nan 2nd set. Photograph: Alex Nicodim/Shutterstock

After losing a 4th successive work crippled to autumn 2-0 down successful nan 2nd set, Raducanu collapsed Cirstea to emotion to triumph her first crippled but past needed a aesculapian clip out.

She recovered to past clasp her service for nan first clip to level it up astatine 2-2, but she could not support her momentum arsenic Cirstea regrouped to return nan adjacent 3 games and lead 5-2.

Raducanu appeared to person thing near successful nan vessel arsenic she served to enactment successful nan lucifer and successful nan adjacent crippled she mislaid her service for a sixth clip arsenic Cirstea took nan title.

At nan Abu Dhabi Open, Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek sealed a astonishment first WTA Tour triumph by beating Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (5), 6-1 successful nan final. The 20-year-old will climb from 101 successful nan rankings into nan apical 50 aft nan champion week of her career.