Emma Raducanu vs Maria Lourdes Carle LIVE: Madrid Open result and reaction as Brit suffers surprise defeat

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Emma Raducanu suffered a surprise defeat to qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle in the first round of the Madrid Open.

Raducanu shot up 82 places in the WTA rankings after scoring four victories in a row between the Billie Jean Cup and the Stuttgart Open, where the Briton put up a strong performance in her quarter-final defeat to World No 1 Iga Swiatek.

She had hoped to build on an impressive showing on the German clay in the Spanish capital, but produced a sloppy outing, producing too many errors to let the Argentine seize control. The 2021 US Open champion had been drawn against Karolina Pliskova, but the former World No 1 withdrew earlier this week, affording the opportunity to Carle to secure a significant win as she continued a breakthrough season that has seen her climb into the world’s top 100.

She will now face the 17th seed Veronika Kudermetova in the second round, with Raducanu forced to reflect on another disappointing defeat with her French Open participation still in doubt. Follow reaction from Raducanu vs Lourdes Carle from the Madrid Open below