(Tennis news) British tennis star Emma Raducanu left behind her injury woes as she went on to secure a straight set 6-3 6-2 victory over Tamara Korpatsch in the Australian Open first round. The match lasted an hour and 25 minutes and Raducanu started off looking hesitant on serve but quickly grew into the match. The 20 year old has adopted an aggressive approach under new coach Sebastian Sachs and made a good comeback in the first set of the seventh game, despite being pegged back twice. Raducanu then went on to secure another break and went on to win six games in a row to take complete control over the match.
“I’m obviously really happy to be through to the second round. It was always going to be difficult, coming in with so little prep and being out there. Everything I’ve done has been quite controlled the last week. So to test it out in a real match and with the unpredictability and stuff, I was just getting used to it in the beginning. But it felt good. If anything, it kind of alleviates any pressure because you’re like, ‘Well, I’ve done so well to get myself onto the court’, and my team has done so well.
“(Physio) Will (Herbert) has been working on it every single day. It’s just a great achievement for all of us. Then for me to be out there, it’s like I might as well just enjoy all the hard work we’ve done to get myself here. I’m really looking forward to this match (against Coco Gauff). I’m very up for it. Coco has obviously done a lot of great things and she’s playing well. I think we’re both good, young players, we’re both coming through, part of the next generation of tennis, really. It’s going to be a great match.” – said Emma Raducanu after the match
Her second round opponent is Coco Gauff who defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-1 6-4. Despite being a year younger than Raducanu, Gauff has more experience at the main tour, playing for three and a half years and has climbed to the top 10. Gauff will be looking to emulate Raducanu by winning her maiden Grand Slam and it will be interesting to see how the American’s experience will fare against Raducanu in the second round of the Australian Open.
In other results, 15th seed Jannik Sinner defeated Kyle Edmund 6-4 6-0 6-2 at Melbourne Park. Edmund was playing in the Australian Open for the first time since 2020 after being sidelined for the last two events due to knee surgeries. “I like the conditions. Obviously when you play in stadiums for me it’s a little bit easier, the court is a little slower,” Sinner said. “Outside is a little tougher, but when you always make the quarter-finals in any Slam it means you like the conditions, so I’m very happy to be back here.”
Also read: Rafael Nadal defeats Jack Draper in opening match of the Australian Open
