Emma Raducanu's Australian Open came to an end in the second round as the No. 28 seed suffered a 7-6(3) 6-2 defeat to Anastasia Potapova. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka had already booked her spot in round three and was awaiting the winner of Raducanu vs Potapova - and herself admitted she was hoping to face the Brit after they played two tight matches last summer.

But it wasn't to be, as Potapova came out on top in a nervy match, despite having a fractured finger. Both players struggled with the windy conditions on a slightly cooler day in Melbourne and hit a combined 42 unforced errors in the first set.

The first five games were breaks, and with her vocal Aussie fan in the stands, this time bringing an inflatable kangaroo with him, it took 24 minutes for 'Raddo' to end that spell and hold serve. But the Brit was broken when attempting to close out the first set at 5-3.

They went into a tiebreak after 51 minutes, and Raducanu's forehand was her undoing as Potapova took it 7-3. The British No. 1 was broken immediately to start the second set, throwing in a double fault as Potapova found the corners and fired off winners

Having played just three matches coming into the Aussie Open, with her pre-season derailed by a foot injury, it became difficult for Raducanu to fight her way back into the contest. Potapova, meanwhile, had found her groove, and the world No. 55 broke again to extend her lead, landing two backhand winners as Raducanu struggled to make her first serves.

As the gap widened, the Brit started swinging freely. She retrieved one of the breaks, finding the corners with her forehand again. But just when it looked like the tide might be turning, Raducanu was broken again, this time on a double fault.

Time was running out for the No. 28 seed. Raducanu couldn't make the most of a small inroad as she led 0-30 on Potapova's serve in the next game, and the Russian-born ace, who recently started representing Austria, moved within a game of the third round.

As Raducanu served to stay in the match, the umpire called out one spectator who was making noise "at the wrong time". But it wasn't Raducanu's now-famous Aussie fan. The ANZ Arena crowd tried to get behind the Brit, and she got one last game on the board before her Australian Open run came to an end.

It's back to the drawing board for Raducanu, who will now have some time to get back on the practice court after she was unable to put in a proper pre-season training block due to the foot issue. And Sabalenka has been denied her wish after sharing her hopes of playing the No. 28 in her next match.

Sabalenka had beaten Chinese qualifier Zhuoxuan Ba 6-3 6-1 earlier on Wednesday. "I would like to play. We always have great battles. She's a great player. Happy to see her back on her top level and moving well," the top seed said of the Brit.

"You can see that she's a fighter, always fighting. It's never easy. You always have to be focused and ready to fight whenever, you know, and that's why I enjoy, because it's always a great battle against her."