Raducanu aggression cannot mask deficiencies in early exit

After her encouraging run to the semi-finals in Korea a fortnight ago, Emma Raducanu reverted to her pre-existing pattern of early exits yesterday when she lost to world No11 Daria Kasatkina in Ostrava.

It was an unkind draw for a firstround match, against a woman on course to reach the WTA Finals in Texas. However, despite the 7-5, 6-4 defeat, there was a lot to like about Raducanu’s performance, including a determination to come forward and take the ball on.

Pundits and coaches have asked all year whether she has a game plan. After her US Open exit, seventime slam champion Mats Wilander told Eurosport “she hasn’t quite found her identity as a player”.

He went on to ask whether Raducanu wanted to be an aggressive shotmaker or a grinder – and the answer was clear enough yesterday as she mixed screaming winners (24) with ambitious misses. It was not a winning formula on this occasion, but the intent was good to see.

Raducanu’s best game came as Kasatkina served for the first set at 5-4. She hit two winners off the forehand wing – the side that has been disappointingly vanilla all year – to break back. Unfortunately, she then missed a number of first serves, letting Kasatkina retake the initiative.

As Raducanu moves on to Romania next week there is still so much she needs to work on, including her endurance. Another issue was a lack of ruthlessness against Kasatkina’s milk float of a second serve. The ball almost seemed to be moving too slowly for Raducanu to time it.

But these are all learning experiences for the Briton, who does at least seem to be swinging with greater freedom now she is ranked at a more appropriate level of No67.