No. 7 seed Emma Raducanu disappointingly bowed out of the WTA 250 tournament in Singapore in the first round after world No. 101 Cristina Bucsa claimed a very tight 5-7 7-5 7-5 win.
Throughout the entire match, there wasn’t much consistency on either side and there was a stunning total of 17 breaks.
In the first set, the Briton was up by an early break but then lost her serve twice as the Spanish player opened a 5-4 lead and had a chance to serve out for the opener.
However, Raducanu responded with back-to-back breaks and ended up taking the first set.
After winning the opener, the No. 7 seed twice came back from a set down in the second set.
But after Bucsa claimed another break in the 11th game, she didn’t fail to serve out for the set once again.
Raducanu was twice up by a break in the third set before losing a rollercoaster
And then, came a third-set rollercoaster – the 2021 US Open winner was twice up by a break but then found herself down by a break after losing her serve in the seventh game.
While the Briton managed to get the break back instantly in the eighth game, Bucsa didn’t panic as she broke the No. 7 seed again in the 11th game and closed out the match in the following game.
Just as was the case at the Australian, the 2021 US Open champion struggled on her serve – had seven aces but also seven double faults – faced 17 break points and dropped her serve nine times.
For Raducanu, it was definitely disappointing to lose very early in Singapore, considering that she lost 6-1 6-0 to Iga Swiatek a week earlier and was hoping to bounce back this week.
Meanwhile, Bucsa plays next against either Sijia Wei or Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
