New Delhi

Defending champion Emma Raducanu became the biggest name in women’s singles to crash out of the US Open 2022 as she was defeated in straight sets by Alize Cornet on Tuesday. The 19-year-old from England never looked in control as she was beaten 3-6. 3-6 at the Flushing Meadows.

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Raducanu burst onto the international scene in 2021 as she became the first qualifier ever to win the US Open title. However, she was completely outplayed by the 32-year-old Cornet in her opening match on Monday and despite playing some beautiful shots, she was unable to convert her chances.

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The defeat meant that Raducanu joined Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004) and Angelique Kerber (2016) to become the third defending US Open champion to lose their first game in the following year.

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On the other hand, Cornet continued her great run of form this year after beating three former World No 1s and making quarter-final appearances in almost all the grand slams in 2022.

“Emma is a great person and a great player so I’m sorry I beat her,” Cornet said in the post-match interview. “I was tired at the start of the second set because there were long rallies.”

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The other big news from the women’s singles in US Open was the elimination of Venus Williams in the first round of the tournament. The former World No 1, who had to withdraw from last year’s tournament due to injury, was beaten 1-6, 6-7 (5) by Alison van Uytvanck of Belgium.

While her sister — Serena Williams — has heavily hinted that she will be retiring after this year’s competition, Venus declined to comment on what the future holds for her.

 â€œRight now, I’m just focused on the doubles,” she said according to AFP.

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