Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open (SkySports)
Emma Raducanu won her debut match at Australian Open against Sloane Stephens
19-year-old Emma Raducanu marked her debut match at the Australian Open with an emphatic win over Sloane Stephens. Raducanu had a brilliant start to the campaign as she went on to win the battle on the court against Stephens. Her first-ever set in the tournament was fully dominated by the Brit as she won 0-6. After losing the second set to Stephens, the 19-year-old picked herself up and came back to win the third set.
After the win, Raducanu talked about how happy she was to have kicked off her campaign with such an important win. Speaking at the on-court interview, she said:
“I think it was a tough matchup for a first round but I was just very happy, I mean I knew there was going to be some very long rallies and her athleticism is really up there so I was having to work extremely hard for my points but I am so happy to have got through.”
After winning the US Open back in September 2021, Raducanu was struggling to find her momentum back. However, after an amazing win like this, it is safe to say that the 19-year-old was very pleased. During the same on-court interview, she was asked to assess her performance and said:
“I was very pleased, I mean coming out of the first set I thought I played some very good tennis with very little unforced errors and then, of course, there was going to be some adversity and the long rally, she was just edging through her defense. So, I am happy to have regrouped.”
Watch Emma Raducanu’s full on-court interview below:
Raducanu will take on Danka Kovinic in the second round on the 20th of January. The unseeded Montenegrin beat Jang Su-jeong of South Korea in the first round.
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