Britain’s Emma Raducanu suffered the heaviest defeat of her career when second seed Iga Świątek showed her superiority in a one-sided third-round match at the Australian Open.
Raducanu, 22, was demolished 6-1, 6-0 in a thrilling afternoon at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
The world number 61 lost five times in a defeat that lasted just one hour and 10 minutes.
The defeat against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina three years ago was the second defeat in her career, having only played one match.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Świątek, who has never advanced past the semi-finals in Melbourne, performed exceptionally well in her performance, which served as another warning to her title rivals.
The 23-year-old from Poland won her first three matches in sets and did not lose a single service game.
“I just liked playing,” said Świątek, who converted five of his 12 break points.
“I took a few shots and thought, ‘this is what I practice for.’
“I felt pretty confident and towards the end I was able to push even more.
“Converting all those break points was really important and I’m happy with that performance.”
