Emma Raducanu sealed a nice first-round win on the Australian Open by defeating Thailand’s world No 195 Mananchaya Sawangkaew on opening Sunday.
Raducanu, who one solely arrived in Melbourne on Friday after reaching the quarter-finals of the Hobart Worldwide, was compelled to scramble to prepare for the event.
However after a sluggish begin she rattled off 10 of the following 11 video games to storm to a 6-4 6-1 victory on Margaret Courtroom Enviornment.
“I feel very happy to have gotten through that match,” stated Raducanu, talking on court docket after her win.
“From the start, she was taking part in extremely properly – all of her returns and pictures gave the impression to be dropping on the baseline.
“It made life very tough and so I am actually pleased with how I fought again within the first set.
“She played some incredible tennis, way higher than her ranking is currently and I’m sure she’s going to do good things this year.”
The 23-year-old has as soon as once more battled bodily points throughout pre-season, with a foot damage severely limiting her time on court docket, and she or he regarded wanting match sharpness in a conflict with Maria Sakkari on the United Cup final week, whereas she beat Camila Osorio within the opening spherical in Hobart however then misplaced to world No 204 Taylah Preston.
Sawangkaew, making her Grand Slam debut, already has a lower-level title to her identify this season and she or he made a lightning-quick begin and was two break factors away from a 4-1 lead within the opening set.
However Raducanu discovered her rhythm and surges via the following seven video games earlier than Sawangkaew stopped the rot.
The British No 1 has achieved her objective of being seeded at a Grand Slam once more and she or he bossed her opponent to finish the win and make it a flawless 5-0 in first-round matches on the Australian Open.
Raducanu will tackle world No 55 Anastasia Potapova within the second spherical with a possible third-round conflict towards world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Potapova got here via towards Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens 3-6 7-5 6-2.
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