(CNN) British Emma Radocano He suffered another painful defeat, after crashing out in the first round of the Stuttgart Open on Tuesday.
Jelena Ostapenko took less than an hour to defeat Raducanu 6-2, 6-1 in straight sets at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
“It’s never easy to face Emma,” Latvia, the 2017 French Open champion, told reporters. She added, “But I was very brave on the court today, focused from the first minute to the last minute. It can continue the same way.”
Ostapenko, ranked No. 22 in the world, stayed the same throughout the match, converting all five of her break points.
Ostapenko will play Ons Jabeur on Wednesday after defeating Radukano.
“I knew against her that the main thing was to interfere in court,” said Ostapenko, 25. “Of course, I missed some balls but I tried to be aggressive all the time when possible. Just try to take the ball early, don’t give it too many chances. Finally, I’m back on clay, my favorite surface.”
The 20-year-old Raducano, who won the US Open in 2021, has been plagued by injuries over the past 18 months that have dampened her hopes of success on the court.
Raducano suffered an ankle injury ahead of the Australian Open earlier this year, while tonsillitis forced her to withdraw from the Austin Open in February.
Meanwhile, a recurring wrist injury that hampered her last season returned to bite through the Miami Open, where she was knocked out in the first round.
Former British tennis player Laura Robson noted earlier this month that Raducanu was looking “really good” ahead of the clay court season.
“Emma’s level is definitely there,” Robson told Eurosport. “She hits the ball just like any of the best players on the tour.
“But it’s just about finding the right balance on the training side, on the field of play and the tournament schedule side of things to make it work for the body because everyone is different, and everyone requires a different number of games too.
“I think if she’s able to get another two consistent weeks under her belt, the belief will come through and she’ll start to trust your body a little bit more and then start not worrying about some of the little injuries because it’s just part of being a tennis player.”
Ostapenko will face the world number four Tunisian Anas Jaber Wednesday.
CNN’s Ben Morse contributed to this report.
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