US Open 2022: First time at Flushing Meadows, defending champion and previous year's finalist won just one match between them
It was a US Open to forget for defending champion Emma Raducanu and last year's finalist Leylah Fernandez, as the duo created an unwanted piece of history between them.
Raducanu was the darling of New York last year, becoming the first qualifier - male or female - to win a Major in the Open Era. However, a year later, the teenager came crashing back down to earth. Winning just six games in a lopsided opening-round defeat to Alize Cornet on Tuesday, Raducanu became only the third defending US Open ladies' singles winner to bite the dust in the first round.
Meanwhile, Fernandez fared only marginally better. After seeing off Oceane Dodin in the first round, the left-hander lost in straight sets to Ludmila Samsonova in the next round.
With the exit of both Raducanu and Fernandez, it marked the first time in the Open Era that the defending champion and finalist at the US Open won just one match between them.
Raducanu and Fernandez won just one match between the two in this edition (1R+2R).
That's the fewest ever amount of wins the current champion+finalist get at the US Open in the Open Era.
(Considering that in 2003 neither Serena nor Venus played, who were the 2002 finalists)
In 2003, defending champion Serena Williams and the previous year's losing finalist Venus Williams did not participate.
Emma Raducanu to slip out of top 75 after US Open, to stay as British No. 1
Emma Raducanu has largely struggled to build on her fairytale triumph in New York last year.
The teenager was only 13-15 entering the last Grand Slam of the year, having reached only two quarterfinals (Stuttgart and Washington DC) all year. However, she arrived at Flushing Meadows on the back of dominant wins over Major winners Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in Cincinnati.
Unfortunately, Raducanu failed to ride her momentum, losing serve thrice to drop the opener against Cornet. She showed signs of fight in the second - leading 3-1 - but Cornet reeled off five games in a row to bring Raducanu's New York reign to a stop.
She gave us a historic run last summer.
See you soon, @EmmaRaducanu 👏 https://t.co/xzMuLNghcl
In the process, the Frenchwoman - playing a record 63rd consecutive Major main draw - reprised her role as the slayer of Major winners. She has previously beaten Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep (Australian Open), Jelena Ostapenko (French Open), and Iga Swiatek (Wimbledon) this year.
Meanwhile, following her defeat to Cornet, Raducanu will slip out of the top 75. Her compatriot Harriet Dart lost in the second round - which means Raducanu will remain the British No. 1.