Emma Raducanu lost the final six games in a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 defeat against Antonia Ruzic in the opening round at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The British No 1, whose original opponent Elisabetta Cocciaretto withdrew at late notice because of fatigue, fought back in the second set to level the match and led 2-0 in the decider before losing all momentum.
Croatia’s Ruzic, the “lucky loser” who was defeated in the final round of the qualifiers, seized her chance against Raducanu, who had withdrawn from her first-round match at the Qatar Open last week.
Raducanu never recovered after falling 3-0 behind in the opening set and was broken twice as Ruzic wrapped it up in half an hour.
The Brit lost her serve again to trail 5-3 in the second set, but battled back with two breaks of her own, winning four games on the trot to win it 7-5 and level the match.
A third succdessive break for Raducanu put her 2-0 up in the decider, but Ruzic wrestled back control in a seesaw encounter, winning the next six games to take the set 6-2 and seal victory in 2hr 20min.
