\n<\/p>\n
There was reason for Raducanu to be confident against Zheng, who is still finding her feet on the grass court and has a serve that can waver when under pressure.<\/p>\n
Raducanu had also made relatively serene progress through her first two matches, dropping just eight games across four sets.<\/p>\n
But, as Raducanu found against Iga Swiatek in Melbourne<\/a> and Paris,<\/a> and Coco Gauff in Italy,<\/a> there is a different, consistent level needed to beat the players for who winning is a habit.<\/p>\n In an edgy start, Raducanu put pressure on Zheng’s serve while saving break points in her own games.<\/p>\n But Zheng broke through at the seventh attempt, a blistering backhand down the line silencing the crowd, who had earlier voiced their displeasure after Zheng had to change her shoes midway through the game.<\/p>\n Raducanu kept up the pressure, creating an immediate break-back opportunity, but Zheng’s huge groundstrokes kept her at bay, and a rushed forehand into the net handed the top seed the first set.<\/p>\n Raducanu left court for a medical timeout on her back, having struggled with back spasms before and after Roland Garros, but took advantage as Zheng’s first serve all but disappeared.<\/p>\n With the wind picking up, Raducanu produced a series of ruthless returns to Zheng’s second serve and quickly found herself a double break up thanks to some strong serving.<\/p>\n But Zheng wrestled a break back and upped her intensity when needed, creeping forward to attack Raducanu’s serve. A double fault handed Zheng the break back and she reeled off four games in a row to close out the match.<\/p>\n Despite the loss, there will be enough for Raducanu to be confident she can perform well on the grass – but she will know there is still a gap to be bridged when it comes to challenging the very best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n