The 20-year-old EMMA RADUCANU, who has tape on her left ankle, will play American world No. 7 Coco Gauff after both players won their opening-round matches at the Australian Open in straight sets.
The British woman, who had been harmed 11 days earlier in Auckland, defeated Tamara Korpatsch on Melbourne Park with no evidence of physical pain or suffering.
Raducanu’s score
Raducano prevailed 6-3 6-2 in 85 minutes on the 1573 Arena against Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch. an opponent making her debut in the main draw of this self-styled Happy Slam.
The British player has struggled with her health ever since she won the 2021 US Open as a teenage qualifier, and after hiring Andy Murray’s old fitness trainer Jez Green, she put in a lot of effort in the offseason to strengthen her body to handle the demands of the WTA Tour.
So when she rolled her left ankle in what she called a “freak accident,” it was a devastating disappointment.
As last week went on, Raducanu’s movement got better during practice at Melbourne Park, but a match would be the only setting in which her condition would truly be revealed.
There weren’t many empty seats because Raducanu is obviously popular in this area, but the match was tedious with 59 unforced errors and eight serve breaks over the course of the two sets.
Raducanu would have been happy with her development on the first day of the competition while donning a stylish new Nike outfit that costs £106. However, she appeared a little hesitant when hitting the backhand.
She was bold in her approach, and the drop shot worked on a few occasions.
Gauff, 18, one of the favourites to win the women’s singles match at Melbourne Park, defeated Czech opponent Katerina Siniakova 6-1 6-4 to get things going.
Raducanu has just twice advanced past the second round in her previous six Slam appearances, and she has never defeated a player of Gauff’s calibre.
Gauff struggled to finish the match on the Rod Laver Arena, but overall it was a leisurely stroll in the early afternoon Australian sun. She eventually won through on her eighth match point.
Gauff hasn’t lost yet in 2023 after defeating Czech star Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-4.
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