Raducanu’s US Open title defense ends with loss to Cornet
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Emma Raducanu’s defense of her surprising 2021 U.S. Open championship has ended with a first-round loss to Alizé Cornet. Their match in Louis Armstrong Stadium ended with a 6-3, 6-3 score. Raducanu is only the third woman to lose her opening match in New York a year after winning the title. The others were 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber. Raducanu dealt with blisters on her racket-holding right hand and took a medical timeout after the first set for treatment from a trainer. She also was simply outplayed by Cornet, a 32-year-old from France who ended Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak at Wimbledon.