Emma Raducanu’s Indian Wells revival comes to a crashing end with straight sets loss to Iga Swiatek

Emma Raducanu crashed out in Indian Wells as world number 1 Iga Swiatek continued her title defense with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on Tuesday.

Swiatek came under pressure early in the first set, but some clean ball hitting helped her hold a 3-2 lead after two tight service games. She further raised her level to break Raducanu in the next game before walking away.

Having wrapped up the first set when Raducanu sent a long shot from the baseline, Swiatek grabbed an early break in the second to add to the pressure on the Brit, whose unforced errors began to pile up.

Bidding to become the second player to successfully defend the Indian Wells title after Martina Navratilova in 1990-91, Swiatek built a 5-1 lead playing flawless tennis and defeating her opponent.

The US Open champion wrapped up the victory when Raducanu hit the net with her serve in a tame finish to her fine run in the southern California desert.

Swiatek’s win was clinched when Raducanu hit the net with his serve in a tame finish to his excellent run in the southern California desert.

Swiatek has now set up a quarterfinal clash against unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

Raducanu, overcoming a wrist injury and illness, was unable to build on her win over Beatriz Haddad Maia, a win that ranks as her best since her 2021 US Open triumph.

Hours earlier, Coco Gauff rallied from a break in the final set to beat Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.

After taking the first set, the sixth-seeded American began to struggle with her forehand in the second and an opportunistic Peterson applied the pressure entering the net.

But after suffering an early break in the decider, Gauff stepped up his defense, fending off three break points at 4-4 and breaking Peterson for the fourth time on match point to book his place in the last eight.

Gauff, who turned 19 on Monday, was serenaded with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” by the crowd.

“Today, it was just a mental thing, staying in the game,” Gauff said. I wasn’t playing my best at times and I wasn’t serving as well as I would like, but I think my mentality kept me going today.

Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman since Martina Navratilova to defend the title.

Raducanu was coming off his best win since winning the US Open two years ago.

Next up for Gauff is a meeting with second-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who survived a second-set scare to beat 16th-seeded Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Sabalenka hit 11 aces in the match to secure the win and exact revenge on the Czech, who beat her at the Dubai Tennis Championships last month.

Elsewhere, seventh-seeded Maria Sakkari overcame Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in a two-hour, 45-minute match to reach the quarterfinals.

Sakkari will next face 15th-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova for a semi-final spot, after the two-time Wimbledon champion saved four match points en route to a 6-2 win. 3-6, 7-6(11) over third-seeded Jessica of the United States. pegula

“I play for these emotions,” Kvitova said. The game had ups and downs, a disaster at times. He knew Jessica wouldn’t fail, but still he had to try. I think this could be one of the best matches I ever played…’

Cirstea notched her first top-five win since 2017 in Beijing when the 32-year-old battled fifth seed Caroline Garcia 6-4 4-6 7-5.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina defeated Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 6-0 and will next face Karolina Muchova, who defeated Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4.