Serena Williams loses to Raducanu; U.S. Open next

MASON, Ohio –

The second cease on Serena Williams’ farewell tour was a brief one.

The 40-year-old Williams fell to 0-2 in matches since asserting “the countdown has begun” on her profession, shedding 6-4, 6-0 to U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu within the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday evening.

Williams stated final week in a Vogue journal essay and an Instagram put up that her profession was winding down, though she didn’t explicitly say the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 29 in New York, can be her final match.

The Cincinnati occasion was the second U.S. Open tuneup for Williams, and the subsequent time she takes the court docket shall be at Flushing Meadows. She misplaced to Belinda Bencic in straight units final week in Toronto. A day earlier than the announcement, Williams beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz for her first match win because the 2021 French Open.

Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam champion, most just lately in 2017 on the Australian Open, when she was pregnant with daughter Olympia. She stated desirous to develop her household was an enormous purpose she plans to step away.

Raducanu, ranked No. 19 on the planet, was sharp as she dispatched Williams – and quieted the vocally pro-Williams crowd – in 1 hour, 5 minutes.

“I can not imagine I simply performed Serena Williams,” the 19-year-old Raducanu stated. “It is one thing that I believe I am actually lucky to have been capable of do, and for our careers to have crossed when there’s such an enormous (age) hole and watching her rising up, it was a tremendous expertise to only play her.”

Williams didn’t communicate to reporters after the match.

Followers cheered heartily when Williams was launched, and once more when she received her first level on a Raducanu error within the second recreation. Williams yelled in frustration when she double-faulted and screamed even louder and pumped her fist when she received the third recreation of the primary set.

“I simply knew how vital each single level was since you let up a little bit bit, yeah, she’s going to be throughout you,” Raducanu stated. “She’s simply such a legend.”

Down 2-0 within the first set, she fought again inside 4-3 after which 5-4, however Raducanu closed out the set at love. Raducanu rolled from there, with Williams wanting annoyed and even resigned close to the top.

Williams was sidelined for a 12 months by a torn hamstring suffered final 12 months at Wimbledon, and her late-career accidents have contributed to inconsistency on the court docket.

The gamers thrilled the gang with an thrilling rally within the fifth recreation of the second set, received by Williams with a forehand volley. However she double-faulted on the subsequent level on the best way to being damaged.

She briskly left the court docket after the match, waving to the gang as she exited.

“I believe that the gang was fairly electrical,” Raducanu stated. “The stadium was actually packed, and even when they had been cheering for Serena … I used to be ready for that.”

Raducanu faces veteran Victoria Azarenka in Wednesday’s second spherical. She has not received a title since her out-of-nowhere triumph on the U.S. Open final 12 months.

Earlier Tuesday, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was eradicated by Shuai Zhang, 6-4, 7-5.

The match misplaced one other massive identify, Coco Gauff, when she retired from her match towards qualifier Marie Bouzkova with a left ankle damage. Gauff had her ankle taped after the primary set and dropped out after the primary recreation of the second set.

Karolina Pliskova superior with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Williams’ older sister, Venus. Bencic fell to Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Rafael Nadal, sidelined since withdrawing from Wimbledon with an stomach tear, practiced earlier than a big crowd. The 22-time Grand Slam champion is scheduled to play Borna Corcic on Wednesday.

In a males’s first-round match, Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5, 6-4.