It has all gone pear-shaped in the Big Apple

EMMA‘S OPEN BID ENDS IN TEARS

- Neil McLeman

THIS time it all ended in tears for Emma Raducanu Flushing Meadows.

At the scene of her greatest triumph, the humbled world No.72 admitted she had messed up her preparations for the final Grand Slam of the season and had paid the price.

"I feel down, I feel sad," she sobbed. "Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in."

Remarkably, the Bromleybased star has still to win a match in New York since her amazing 2021 triumph here as a teenage qualifier. Her title defence was over after only one match in 2022 and she missed last year's event after wrist and ankle injuries.

In a half-empty grandstand this time, she lost 6-1 3-6 6-4 to American Sofia Kenin.

After such a feelgood start to her career, her terrible US Open record reflects a general pattern of defeats on the court and feeling lost off it.