She was aided by an untimely double-fault from the Briton, whose serve, despite the seven aces she rattled down throughout the encounter, was not the same irrepressible force it had been against Williams and Azarenka. She then fell victim to Pegula’s crisp ball striking from the baseline and gifted her opponent the crucial break with an error-strewn service game, before the American closed out proceedings with a thundering forehand down the line - one of the 21 winners the 2019 Cincinnati champion fired past her younger opponent.ĭespite showing flashes of the composure that saw her string 10 consecutive matches en route to her iconic US Open title last year, Raducanu was unable to press the reset button in the second set as Pegula continued to pounce, breaking her in the third game. She conducted herself with the same business-like aura she had displayed against Williams and Azarenka earlier on in the week, rarely allowed herself to show much emotion, save for a solitary fist-pump after holding serve 5-4 in the first set. The pair traded early breaks early on in the first set, but Raducanu made it hard work for herself during energy-sapping passages of play in which she twice had to claw her way back from 0-40 down to hold serve. It was little wonder, then, that she diffused Raducanu's offensive baseline game, stretching the Briton across the back of the court with an aggressive game plan that would tease 21 unforced errors out of the US Open champion, who never really found her groove.
The 28-year-old has been on an upwards trajectory in 2022 and is enjoying one of the best years of her career, having earned the nickname ‘Mrs Consistency’ for her rise up the rankings to world No 7. Pegula, however, was a totally different beast. The Bromley teenager smiled and gave a brief wave to the crowd as she left the court in Cincinnati, seemingly satisfied with her progress in a week which saw her thump two former grand slam champions in Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. It marked the end of an encouraging week for the British No 1, who showed signs that she had recaptured the form that saw her win the US Open as a qualifier before she returns to Flushing Meadows in 10 days’ time for the defence of her grand slam crown.įor large periods she was unable to match Pegula’s aggressive and varied ball-striking and always looked second best in a contest where her hopes of recording a first victory against a top 10 player quickly faded. The British No 1 had been vying to win her third consecutive match for the first time this calendar year, but was powerless to match the American’s clinical backhand game, slumping to a 7-5, 6-4 defeat. Emma Raducanu’s resurgent run at the Western and Southern Open came to an end after the Briton was overpowered by home favourite Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
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