Raducanu misses three match points in Korea Open loss to Krejcikova

Emma Raducanu missed three match points as former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova fought back to reach the Korea Open quarter-finals.

British number one Raducanu will be left to rue a missed opportunity after losing 4-6 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 in two hours and 52 minutes.

Raducanu served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, having led it 4-1, and held a match point in that game.

However, Krejcikova broke Raducanu back and forced a tie-break - which Raducanu initially seemed to have dominated.

After racing out to a 5-2 lead, Raducanu found herself with two match points on the Krejcikova serve, but could not convert and the former world number two held firm to force a decider.

Krejcikova, ranked 39th in the world, saved two break points in the third game of the deciding set before reeling off five successive games to secure victory.

The Czech will face world number two Iga Swiatek of Poland in the quarter-finals.

Reigning Wimbledon champion and top seed Swiatek was a 6-3 6-2 winner against Romania's Sorana Cirstea earlier on Thursday.

Raducanu withdrew from the Great Britain team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in order to participate in the Korea Open.

The 22-year-old, currently 33rd in the world, reached the quarter-finals in Seoul in 2024 and has no further ranking points to defend before the end of the year.

She is hoping to climb into a position where she will be one of the 32 seeds for the Australian Open in January 2026.

At the same time 2021 US Open champion Raducanu was in action against Krejcikova in Seoul, Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter were guiding Britain to a comfortable quarter-final victory against Japan in Shenzhen, China.