Vekic wins Queen's Club final in straight sets to deny dream title for Raducanu

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LONDON (AP) — Emma Raducanu fell short of a dream title on home soil at the Queen's Club after Croatian lucky loser Donna Vekic won the final 6-0, 7-6 (6) in London on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Raducanu was looking for her first singles trophy since her stunning win as a qualifier at the 2021 U.S. Open.

The British No. 1 was swiftly beaten in the first set but saved three championship points in the second on the way to a tiebreaker, where she saved another and came close to taking it to a deciding set.

Rain earlier in the tournament resulted in Raducanu having to power through a two-match day on Saturday, beating Kamilla Rakhimova then American Iva Jovic to reach the first grass-court and third tour-level final of her career.

Raducanu finished runner-up to Sorana Cirstea in Cluj-Napoca, her second final, in February.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis