Emma Raducanu exits Australian Open after second-round loss to Anastasia Potapova

The 28th seed lost 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to 55th-ranked Potapova on Rod Laver Arena, struggling with consistency as errors crept into all areas of her game.

Raducanu started strongly in a scrappy opening set that featured five breaks of serve. Leading 5-3 and serving for the set at 5-4, she was unable to close it out, allowing Potapova to dominate the tie-break.

After a lengthy break, Potapova broke twice early in the second set to take control. Raducanu briefly recovered one break, but a double fault handed Potapova a 4-1 advantage, and she closed out the match.

Raducanu finished with 28 unforced errors and looked short of match sharpness, particularly on her forehand, which she has recently adjusted.

"I want to be playing a different way, and the misalignment with how I'm playing right now and how I want to be playing is something I want to work on," Raducanu said.

"There are pockets of me playing how I want to play, but it's not consistent. It's not going to happen overnight."

She arrived in Melbourne with limited preparation after a foot injury delayed her return to training until late December.

"If you would have told me I would have played four or five matches in Australia, regardless of the results, that would have been surprising from a physical perspective," she added.

Potapova, a former junior world number one now representing Austria, advanced to the third round despite errors in the first set.

Cameron Norrie is now the only British player through to the third round of singles in Melbourne. Raducanu will return home to rebuild fitness and form following her injury setbacks. 

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