Emma Raducanu’s victory in the opening round of the Australian Open will always be more significant than the method by which she got there.
On Tuesday, Day 3 at Melbourne Park, the 2021 US Open champion celebrated defeating No. 26-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) on Court 3, where a few British flags flapped in a mild breeze.
The 22-year-old British player only won 30% of points on her second serve, made 30 unforced errors, and served 15 double faults in her first match since November. With nine aces and 22 victories, she was competent enough in the crucial situations to force her way into the second round.
Emma Raducanu overcame her serving difficulties to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, and advance to the Australian Open second round.
Despite making 15 double faults, the 22-year-old defeated 31st-ranked Russian Alexandrova 7-6 (4) 7-6 (2) to record her biggest victory at Melbourne Park.
With more opportunities to come, Raducanu’s win tied the record here by sending five British players to the second round.
Her slight back issue earlier this month and her refusal to receive treatment for ant bites last week—just to be safe in case she was caught using medication that would violate anti-doping rules—were the biggest stories about her back home because she wasn’t playing competitively.
After attempting to make it to the third round for the first time, she will face Amanda Anisimova, another youthful prodigy who has taken a break from the sport to focus on her mental health.
As the match got underway under a cloudless Melbourne sky, Raducanu’s ongoing popularity was demonstrated by the long lines outside Court 3.
The former US Open champion’s serve is still developing and in her first two service games, she made four double faults and five aces.
After that, the odds went against her, as she was earning less than 10% of the points on her second serve going into the tie-break. She had also committed nine double faults, including three in a single game at 4–4.
Despite breaking serve four times in a row, Alexandrova, a large ball striker with an unrelentingly negative attitude, found it difficult to hold her delivery, and Raducanu’s return game was strong.
Despite trailing 4-2 to 4-4 in the tie-break, Raducanu’s errant return at a pivotal stage gave her only her third point of the set on second serve. The set was sealed with a forehand return hammered into the corner.
Raducanu appeared to have calmed on serve, and the British number two took the lead right away in the second set after her opponent broke again.
She was broken at 4-3 but persevered to leave herself serving for the match after surviving three more double faults at 3-2 and seeking guidance from coach Nick Cavaday.
She was two points away at 30-0, but she was unable to generate a match point, and Alexandrova was sent back on serve after yet another double fault.
Raducanu was nearly flawless after that, with the sole flaw being a last double fault on her first match point. She then had to preserve a set point to force a tie-break.
Ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina was the first player through on Day 3, losing the opening match before defeating Viktoriya Tomova 6-1, 6-3, with seven consecutive victories.