Injury-free Raducanu dominates to set up R2 blockbuster against Gauff at Australian Open
WTA
Emma Raducanu showed no signs of an injury in her first-round match at the 2023 Australian Open as she easily sailed into the second round.
Entering the first major of the season, the 20-year-old Brit couldn't be sure if her body would be able to take on the challenge after previously retiring from her second-round match in Auckland.
However, Raducanu recovered in time, as she hinted during her pre-tournament press conference, and showed very positive tennis in her first match in Melbourne this year.
The 2021 US Open champion took on Tamara Korpatsch in the first round of the "Happy Slam." Coincidentally, the German player is ranked right behind Raducanu in the WTA Rankings.
The British player started the match with a break of her opponent's serve, but in the following game, her opponent broke back to make it one-all.
But former WTA World No. 10 got one more break to sprint into a 3-1 lead in the first set. Yet, her opponent came back once again, making things even at 3-3 after six games played.
Raducanu managed to break again, but this time, she confirmed it with one more break to win the first set of the match 6-3 after only 39 minutes of play.
The second set was a better one for Raducanu, at least on her serve. She wasn't broken, hit two aces, and won 81% of points after her serve. Moreover, she broke her opponent's serve twice, resulting in a comfortable 6-2 win in the second set.
After an hour and 26 minutes, Raducanu won the match 6-3, 6-2 to beat Korpatsch and start her Grand Slam season with an impressive victory in Melbourne.
She also set up a second-round meeting with the 2022 Roland Garros finalist, Coco Gauff, who defeated Katerina Siniakova in the first round of the competition.
