Anastasia Potapova knocked out British number one Emma Raducanu 7-6 (7-3)6-2 in the second round of the Australian Open.
The first set was messy and full of mistakes from both players. Potapova made a lot of errors, and neither player could hold serve early on, with the set starting with five straight breaks.
Raducanu eventually found some rhythm and moved ahead, giving herself the chance to win the set when she served at 5–4. She couldn’t finish it, and Potapova broke back at a crucial moment.
The set went to a tiebreak, where Potapova suddenly played much better, cutting down her errors and pulling away to win it. After taking a long break before the second set, Potapova came back refreshed and confident, starting strongly and breaking Raducanu twice to take a 3–0 lead.
Addressing the media after the match, Raducanu blamed the weather conditions for her loss, and she will not give herself a hard time over mistakes made. “I thought it was a very difficult match with the weather conditions in the first set.
“I thought it was tricky trying to get used to how lively it felt out there, and also, the wind was pretty strong from one side. Something that I felt, you know, too comfortable with. I didn’t feel like I dealt with it particularly well, and even so, I still had some chances in the first set.
“I don’t want to give myself too much of a hard time because I know my preparation going into this tournament. I kind of have to leave with my head held high because of the matches I’ve had here”.
As the 23-year-old travels back home, 55th-ranked Potapova will face Aryna Sabalenka on Friday. Potapova and Sabalenka have met each other twice on the WTA Tour. Both matches were on clay courts, and Sabalenka won both in straight sets. Their first match was at the 2023 Stuttgart tournament, where Sabalenka won 6-1, 6-2. They met again at the 2025 Rome tournament, and Sabalenka won 6-2, 6-2.
