Emma Raducanu aims to go beyond the second round at a Grand Slam event for the first time since winning the 2021 US Open. Dates: January 16-29 Venue: Melbourne Park Coverage: Commentary every day from 07:00 GMT on Radio 5 Sports Extra ‘Tennis Breakfast’ live from Melbourne, with selected live text commentary and match reports on the BBC Sport website and app.
Emma Raducanu made a positive return to the court after her injury, advancing to the second round of the Australian Open with a win in sets.
On the opening day in Melbourne, the British number one won 6-3, 6-2 over German Tamara Korpatsch.
Raducanu, 20, rolled his ankle in Auckland 11 days ago and a beaming smile after sealing victory showed his joy at getting through his first test.
The world number 77 now faces American seventh seed Coco Gauff in the second round.
Gauff, 18, is among the favorites to win the women’s singles at Melbourne Park and opened with a 6-1 6-4 win over Czech rival Katerina Siniakova.
American third seed Jessica Pegula, Gauff’s doubles partner and another favorite to win her first major singles title, made an even bigger statement with a 6-0, 6- 1 over the Romanian Jaqueline Cristian which took only 59 minutes.
In the men’s singles, Britain’s Kyle Edmund was beaten 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 by Italian 15th seed Jannik Sinner as he continues to rebuild his career from a serious knee injury.
Edmund, 28, reached the semi-finals in 2018 but has seen his career derailed after needing three operations and playing with a protected ranking.
Comfortable start for Raducanu, but bigger tests lie ahead
When Raducanu left the court in Auckland in tears, his chances of playing in the first major of the season looked serious.
Physical problems have plagued the Briton since she was catapulted to superstardom by winning the 2021 US Open as a teenage qualifier and, after hiring Andy Murray’s former fitness coach Jez Green, she worked hard during the pre-season to build his body to withstand the rigors of the WTA Tour.
So it was a bitter blow when he rolled his left ankle in what he described as a freak “accident”.
Raducanu’s movement improved in training at Melbourne Park as the past week went on, but the real indication of his condition would only be apparent in a match scenario.
With the straps still on his ankle, Raducanu initially looked cautious as he stretched to the backhand side and had to put weight on the affected foot.
A scrappy start full of unforced errors saw the pair trade five breaks of serve before Raducanu began to grow in confidence.
Korpatsch, 27, is ranked higher than Raducanu but does not have the same pedigree and was making his Australian Open main draw debut.
A double fault from the German – who is more comfortable on clay and looked nervous throughout – led to a match point which Raducanu took when Korpatsch hit a forehand long.
Raducanu was beaming with joy as he spun around on the court to celebrate, but he knows there’s a much tougher test ahead when he takes on Gauff on Wednesday.