Raducanu knocked out in first round of Qatar Open

In the first round of the Qatar Open, Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Emma Raducanu in straight sets, giving her a fourth straight defeat in a row.

Russian Alexandrova won 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday, allowing the British number two to fall 3-1 in both sets.

The tournament in Doha, which is the first WTA 1000 event of the year, had a wildcard entry for Raducanu.

Next up is Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s number one, and Alexandrova.

Raducana, ranked 60th in the world, started brightly against Alexandrova, who she beat in the first round of the Australian Open in January.

However, Alexandrova, who won a WTA Tour title last week in Linz, Austria, capitalized on Raducanu’s inability to get a second break of serve and won five straight points.

Alexandrova, 30, dipped slightly in the early stages of the second set, which allowed Raducana to lead once again, but the world number 26 claimed a crucial break at 5-5 and then served out the match.