Emma Raducanu blitzes Victoria Azarenka in Cincinnati second round, as Nick Kyrgios crumbles to American Taylor Fritz
- Raducanu’s blistering form continued early against another major-winner in Victoria Azarenka
- A distracted Nick Kyrgios handed a reality check ahead of the US Open after suffering his most emphatic defeat of the year at the Cincinnati Masters.
Reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu lost just two games in a commanding second-round win over former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.
Less than one day after a first-round win against 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams, Raducanu was back on court to face another former world No 1, and was similarly dominant.
The 19-year-old dropped just two games in a 6-0, 6-2 win that lasted 62 minutes to reach round 3. The win over world No 22 Azarenka was Raducanu’s first over a top 30 player since she won the US Open last summer.
“I played a great match for sure,” Raducanu said. “To play Vika like that I had to stay focused. In the second set I could feel the important moments. I’m pleased with how I dug in and served it out.”
While Raducanu was finding form, world No 28 Nick Kyrgios crashed out to 11th seed Taylor Fritz after only 50 minutes.
Kyrgios had beaten his last five opponents since his surprise Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic, but struggled physically against Fritz and received treatment on his knee from the physio during the match.
“It feels great to have my game come together today,” Fritz said. “That’s the kind of match I really needed to give me a lot of confidence going into the next match, going to the US Open, a lot of things are clicking for sure.”
