Britain’s Emma Raducanu suffered the joint heaviest defeat of her career as second seed Iga Swiatek demonstrated her superiority in a one-sided Australian Open third-round match.
Raducanu, 22, was thrashed 6-1 6-0 in a chastening afternoon on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
The world number 61 lost serve five times in a defeat which took just one hour and 10 minutes.
It was the second time in her career that she lost with only a game to her name, following a 6-0 6-1 defeat by Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in Sydney three years ago.
Raducanu was unable to cope with Swiatek’s top spin-heavy groundstrokes and athleticism, making a host of errors from the baseline – particularly on the backhand side – as the pressure told.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, who has never gone past the Melbourne semi-finals, played exceptionally well in a performance which fired another warning to her title rivals.
The 23-year-old from Poland has won her opening three matches in straight sets and not dropped a service game.
“I just enjoyed playing,” said Swiatek, who converted five of her 12 break points. “I hit a few shots where I thought ‘this is what I practice for’.
“I felt pretty confident and at the end I could push for even more.
“Converting all these break points was really important and I’m pleased with that performance.”
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