All three British women fell in the 2nd round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday, with Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal losing in straight sets, and Emma Raducanu going down in three.
I found moving really difficult. I felt like I was slipping around, but it was taking me a long time to get out of the corners, and after the serve as well. I’m not really sure how to improve that, so I guess I’ll just take that back, and try to work on it in the next week. Emma Raducanu
Raducanu’s run was stopped by 22-year-old Marta Kostyuk, the World No. 36 from Ukraine, 4-6 6-2 2-6, in a hard-fought contest on Court 4 at the WTA 1000 tournament.
The 2021 US Open champion reached the quarter-finals of a premier tour event for the first time at the Miami Open last month, but was unable to repeat the feat in the Spanish capital.
Kostyuk came into Madrid with just 1 win in 6 career matches at the tournament and 3 consecutive defeats in the 2nd round, but she has now beaten Raducanu twice in 3 previous meetings, exacting revenge for their last matchup.
The win ensures that 3 Ukrainians have reached the 3rd round, and to keep her deepest-ever Madrid run alive, Kostyuk will next have to beat Veronika Kudermetova for the first time, although the two have not played since 2021.
The former Top 10 Russian was a 3-set winner over Spanish lucky loser Cristina Bucsa, saving a match point in her 4-6 7-6(1) 7-5 comeback effort.
Despite winning one more point than 24th-seeded Kostyuk in the topsy-turvy contest, and having beaten her comfortably in their last meeting here 3 years ago, the British No. 2 made a poor start by topping her opening serve but clawed her way back from 1-3 down to 3-3.
Two untimely double-faults saw her lose her serve again, and the competitive opening set slipped away as the Ukrainian took the first set.
Kostyuk received treatment to her right wrist ahead of the second and, having regrouped after a chat with Mark Petchey on the sideline, Raducanu made the stronger start.
The 22-year-old Brit responded superbly, racing into a 2-0 lead, and although Kostyuk broke back in the third game, Raducanu broke twice more to take the set in decisive fashion.
In the decider, it was Kostyuk’s turn to react strongly to dropping a set, establishing a 2-0 advantage after another poor opening game from the Brit, which was to prove her undoing, although Raducanu did draw level at 2 games apiece.
The Ukrainian was not to be denied, breaking Raducanu’s serve again, and then once more at 4-2 on her way to sealing the win after just over 2 hours and 10 minutes.
In total, there were 11 breaks of serve, with Kostyuk winning 6 of her 16 chances against Raducanu, while the Brit won 5 of her 7 opportunities.
Emma Raducanu took the middle set off Marta Kostyuk but was eventually outplayed by the clay court specialist at La Caja Magica
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Afterwards, Raducanu admitted that she did not feel entirely comfortable on the clay court surface.
“I think it’s positive to get through and play two matches on the outdoor clay courts,” she said. “I would say that it is pretty noticeable to me that I don’t necessarily feel very comfortable, but I think that’s something I can improve on and work on.
“And it is my second proper clay season and the first one in three years. So I think I’m just trying to give myself a chance to play as many points as I can on it, and also [I need] time on the court training as well.”
The difference between her movement and that of Kostyuk was evident on the red clay, as Raducanu struggled to change direction efficiently and slide into her shots when on the run.
Kostyuk’s ease on the clay allowed her to absorb Raducanu’s pace, transforming points from defense into attack.
Raducanu, a former World No. 10, has climbed from 49 to 47 in the live WTA rankings with the 35 points she earned from her 1st round win against Suzan Lamens, and she would have risen above 46th-ranked Lulu Sun had she progressed to the 3rd round.
Raducanu, however, remains on 1139 points as she heads to compete at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, where she has only played once before, in 2022.
She still has opportunities to improve her ranking in the coming weeks as she is not defending any points until the grass court season, having ended her clay campaign early after Madrid last year.
Katie Boulter’s clay court inexperience was exposed by Jasmine Paolini, who easily won in 60 minutes on Friday
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It was a disappointing day for the British women, with Katie Boulter thumped, 6-1 6-2, by Jasmine Paolini, in just 60 minutes.
The two had split their 4 previous meetings with 2 wins apiece, but in their first clay-court encounter, there was little doubt as to who was superior on this surface.
The British No. 1 is still finding her feet on clay and proved no match for the Italian 6th seed, who reached the French Open final last year.
Paolini raced out of the blocks, firing 5 clean winners to jump to a 2-0 lead. While Boulter rallied to break back, it was the best she could muster, as the Italian cruised through the next 9 games without facing a game point, delivering heavy forehands and deft drop-shots that exposed the Brit’s movement.
In the second set, Paolini conceded just 4 points in the first 5 games, and Boulter struggled to control her strokes, racking up 21 unforced errors in total.
At 5-0 up, Paolini had a brief lapse with a pair of double-faults, and Boulter managed to find the court sufficiently to get 2 games on the board.
It wasn’t enough, and the Italian served out the match with a minimum of fuss the second time round, having efficiently converted 6 of her 7 break points.
Paolini, whose career-best Madrid result to date was a 4th round run last year, will bid to repeat that against Maria Sakkari in the Last 32, following the Greek’s victory over Poland’s Magda Linette, 7-6(5) 6-3.
Boulter, who earned the first WTA clay-court win of her career against Katerina Siniakova in the 1st round, won just 11 points out of 46 on serve, and did not hold serve until the penultimate game of the contest.
Paolini had a chance to clinch an even more decisive win when she held a first match point at 5-0 in the second set, but Boulter rallied enough to avoid a bagel set.
Jasmine Paolini’s prowess on clay came to the fore against Katie Boulter and she moves on to the Last 32 at the Mutua Madrid Open where she faces Maria Sakkari
© Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
It was a similar story for Sonay Kartal against in-form Elina Svitolina, the British No. 3 losing, 6-3 6-1, to the 17th seed from Ukraine.
The World No. 60, who earned her first clay-court victory in the opening round against Jaqueline Cristian, suffered a 53-minute defeat by the former World No. 3.
The trio of losses means there are no Britons remaining at the WTA 1000 event.
Former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina was an easy winner over Sonay Kartal, the British No. 3, on Friday in Madrid and will meet Elena Rybakina in round 3
© Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
