Battling Raducanu runs out of puff as Svitolina pulls away

EMMA RADUCANU'S hopes of pulling off an upset in only her second match since returning from triple surgery were denied by Elina Svitolina at the ASB Classic in Auckland today.

- Matt Majendie

Raducanu succumbed to a 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 defeat against this year's Wimbledon semi-finalist as she effectively ran out of steam in her second successive marathon match in just three days.

But the signs were still promising as she went toe-to-toe with the No2 seed in a high-quality match, which will give her confidence going into the opening grand slam of the season, the Australian Open, which gets under way in 10 days' time.

For two of the three sets, Raducanu's defence was superb, so too a repeat of the aggressive shot-making that had aided her on her way to the US Open title in 2021.

Her shot selection and game management also left her Ukrainian opponent scrambling from the back of the court.