© Getty Images Sport – Hannah Peters
Emma Raducanu suffered a three-set Auckland defeat to Elina Svitolina following a stunning collapse, while defending champion Coco Gauff claimed a very dominant win to safely reach the quarterfinal.
Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, was just four points away from victory when No. 2 seed Svitolina stormed back to win 6-7(5) 7-6 (3) 6-1 and reach the Auckland quarterfinal. Up by a set, Raducanu also started strongly the second-set tie-break and had a 3-1 lead.
Four points away from victory, Raducanu started making inexplicable unforced errors and mistakes as Svitolina won the next six points to overturn the deficit and send the match into a decider. After losing the second set in a devastating way, Raducanu wasn’t able to mentally recover as Svitolina cruised past the third set to complete her comeback win.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Gauff dismantled rising Czech star Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3 6-0. Gauff, who won her first Auckland title last year without a dropped set, has now won two straight-set matches at this year’s Auckland edition and she is three wins away from defending her title in New Zealand.
How Svitolina came back to beat Raducanu?
Although Svitolina was considered the slight favorite going into their match,…
