Emma Raducanu LOSES to world No 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets in quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open.. as her winless run against top-10 players drags on

Emma Raducanu's upwards momentum has been briefly curtailed as she lost in straight sets to Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open. 

Raducanu lost 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in a battling performance but was unable to break her duck against top-10 players.

She has gone seven matches against top-10 stars without a win and hasn't even managed a set in that time, but she was competitive against Swiatek. 

The 21-year-old had beaten Angelique Kerber and Linda Noskova in straight sets in the first two rounds to reach this stage. 

Things were going well against Swiatek but losing the first-set tie-break was a pivotal moment and the Pole broke her in the first game of the second set before surging to victory.   

Considering that she is still finding her feet after an injury-plagued 2023, reaching the quarter-finals here represents good progress from Raducanu. 

She dropped as low as 303rd in the world rankings on the back of wrist and ankle operations and has often struggled to string more than a couple of wins together.   

However, she has been in strong form recently, helping Britain beat France in the Billie Jean King Cup last week. 

Swiatek will meet fourth seed Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals in Stuttgart.

The world No 1 is on a 10-match winning streak at this tournament, having won the last two editions.

'It was a pretty intense match. I was happy that I was able to keep the intensity even though we played some tough games for like two hours,' she said.

'It wasn't easy. I had a lot of break points which I didn't convert so still I'm happy that I could finish it with a better score in the second set than in the first.

'There are a lot of factors coming in if you want to stay consistently at the top but I hope [Raducanu] will be able to do it. For sure she has the game but it's not easy.'

'I hope she will be able to do it because for sure she has the game for it,' she said. 

Raducanu pushed Swiatek hard. This was the fourth-longest straight-sets win in the Pole's career, showing how closesly contested the match was.