Emma Raducanu managed just one match against second seed Iga Swiatek as she lost 11 in a row in a 6-1 6-0 third round Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena.
That equals the loss she suffered to Elena Rybakina on the WTA Tour in Sydney three years ago.
The only previous time Raducanu played on Melbourne Park's main arena was against Coco Gauff two years ago, when she acquitted herself well, but Swiatek was simply too good.
Raducan congratulates Swiatek (right) after the third round match in Melbourne
“I think it was a match going into it and I knew I had to play really well,” said Raducanu, who has yet to win a set in four games against Swiatek.
“I think today, credit to Iggy, she played good tennis, but I think it was a little bit of her playing well and I'm not playing that well. That combination is probably not a good one and resulted in today's.
“The result was obviously pretty sharp. I feel like I look back and I know exactly what I need to do, and I take that as feedback.”
Having entered the tournament without preliminary matches following back spasms – which flared up again during her second-round win over Amanda Anisimova – the third-round showing, Raducanu's best result, was by no means a disaster.
She singled out her serve as a key area to work on if she is to get close to the top players after breaking 16 times in six sets and making 24 double faults.
“Three weeks ago when I was in Auckland I was doing some rehab in the pool,” said the 22-year-old, the only Briton to reach the final 32nd place.
“I think being on the tennis court and playing matches and competing is something I have to be grateful for.
“I started hitting when I came 18 days ago. I have to be confident that I was able to beat the two best opponents in the first two rounds. But I don't think today is an excuse for the back or the physicality.
“I think the thing I want to improve is my serving. In the first two matches, I got away with it against two top players because I was able to defend and move, use the rest of the game.
“If I'm not necessarily able to hold my service games or dictate, I feel like it feeds into the rest of my game.”
Swiatek was so slow to serve that she was given a time violation before the start of the match, but after that the Pole was a woman in a hurry, and the hot, sunny conditions made her hard shots even more so.
The Briton dug in well to hold serve in her first game, but that proved to be as good as it got, with Swiatek almost flawless while Raducanu couldn't get enough first serves.
Her backhand, usually one of her best assets, was also failing and Raducan looked like she couldn't wait to get off the court after the 70-minute demolition.
Swiatek is a famously good champion, and this is the 26th match in which she has gone 6-0 at a Grand Slam – by contrast, world number one Aryna Sabalenka has managed the feat just nine times.
“I hit a couple of shots that later I thought was what I train for,” said the second seed, who is bidding for his first Australian Open title.
“I felt like the ball was listening to me. All the tactics and everything I wanted, I could do. So I just kept going. This match was perfect for me.
“I wouldn't say I'm ruthless. I just try to have the same attitude and the same focus regardless of the result. But it's not that I want to show anything. I'm just playing my game. If it's working, why stop?”
Raducanu was proud of how she stood up to the occasion despite the result and is eager to get back to work straight away, with her next tournament due to be in Singapore in just over a week – live on Sky Sports Tennis.
“I think one of my goals for this year is to be consistent, to go with it,” she said.
“My team will probably tell me to take it easy. I feel like I have some pretty good stuff to work on and feedback. I'll probably just want to get into it as soon as possible.
“I feel like I'm speaking from a pretty rational place. I'm not necessarily overly emotional anyway.”
“I wouldn't say I'm ruthless,” said Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion and winner of the 2022 US Open. “I'm just trying to have the same attitude and the same focus regardless of the score.
“But it's not like I want to, you know, show something. I'm just playing my game. If it's working, why stop? I've seen a lot of matches where somebody's been down 2-5 or something like that. You always just have to keep going. It's not done until it's done.”
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina joined Swiatek in the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 win over Dayan Yastremska, but only after receiving treatment on her back, while the eighth seed Emma Navarro and the ninth seed Daria Kasatkina also advanced.
German Eva Lys she became the first lucky loser to reach the women's fourth round since 1988 when she defeated Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 4-6 6-3 6-3 to be rewarded with a meeting with Swiatek.
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