'There are no excuses' says frustrated Tauson after suffering early round US Open exit

[p][b]"I’m playing terribly. Really badly. I just have to admit it. I have no excuses. My brain and body are giving up. I’m making strange errors that I’m not used to. It’s all just falling apart,"[/b] said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tauson-clara/2PPTHPya/"]Tauson[/a], who has had a terrible year on the court to bt.dk after the match.[/p][p]This marks the third consecutive time Tauson crashed out in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament.[/p][p]The Dane actually got off to a dream start and was clearly the better player until 4-2, but then the match changed completely, and Tauson’s game fell apart.[/p][p]Tauson quickly learned that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stephens-sloane/21U8Dqna/"]Stephens[/a], who won the US Open in 2017, still packs a punch with her forehand, yet whenever the Dane took the initiative in rallies, it usually resulted in points on the scoreboard.[/p][p]Tauson was striking the ball well, too, and broke serve early to take a 1-0 lead. Her serve was also spot-on from the start, helping her establish a 4-2 advantage.[/p][embed guid="3eca71a9-7af3-4f94-88c2-1dff0bbd6f3f" url="https://x.com/usta/status/2094560511564161089" social-type="twitter" /][p]At that stage, Tauson had four break points to go up 5-2, but the American fended them all off, narrowing the gap to 3-4. Stephens then capitalized on her newfound momentum to break back and level the score at 4-4.[/p][p]Suddenly, the American could do no wrong, while Tauson’s level dropped. Stephens ultimately won the set 6-4 after Tauson blasted a forehand wide.[/p][p]The pattern continued into the second set; Tauson was completely devoid of confidence and committed error after error. Tauson managed to avoid a humiliating "bagel"—saving match points while trailing 0-5—but it was only a brief reprieve. [/p][p]Stephens confidently served out the match in the following game, and after an hour and fifteen minutes of play, Tauson had to make the long, disheartening walk to the net. [/p][p]An autumn schedule featuring a series of tournaments in Asia now awaits Tauson, offering a final chance to turn around a very difficult year.[/p]