Emma Raducanu was condemned to a third successive defeat at the Abu Dhabi Open, as the former US Open champion lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the first round.
In a battle between two former Grand Slam champions - both of whom used wild cards to enter the tournament - Raducanu fell to a 3-6 4-6 loss to the 2023 Wimbledon winner in one hour and 35 minutes.
The 22-year-old drew first blood on the day with a break in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead, but Vondrousova came back firing on all cylinders, earning a hard-earned break back straight away after Raducanu saved five break points.
A rejuvenated Vondrousova did not drop another game en route to taking the first set, before Raducanu wasted four chances to break in the first three games of the second.
The former British number one was then seemingly fatally broken in the eighth game, giving Vondrousova the chance to serve for the match, but Raducanu did not give up the ghost and broke back for 4-5 to threaten a tie-break.
However, her revival was short-lived as Vondrousova brought up three match points on the Raducanu serve - two of which the Briton saved - but the third time was the charm for the Czech.
Raducanu's defeat follows previous losses to Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open and Cristina Bucsa in Singapore, and the 22-year-old committed 32 unforced errors on the day, while also failing to capitalise on Vondrousova's nine double faults.
Ben Knapton
