17 January 2024

Emma Raducanu hoping to maintain her ‘calm’ in second round of Australian Open

17 January 2024

Emma Raducanu will hope to maintain the same air of calm that accompanied her grand slam comeback when she takes to the court again for her second-round match at the Australian Open.

The 19-year-old was handed a kind draw against American Shelby Rogers, who was playing her first competitive tennis for six months, but negotiated the hurdle with a minimum of fuss in a 6-3 6-2 victory.

Raducanu’s spell out of the sport following triple surgery has given a chance for the circus surrounding her to die down, while she has a new yet familiar coach in the shape of Nick Cavaday, who she first worked with as a 10-year-old.

“I think it’s pretty calm now,” she said. “It’s nice to be with Nick. I’ve known him since I was a kid, feel very comfortable there. Just all aspects really of my life I feel like are calming down and settled.

“Obviously when you come back after eight months, have experienced three surgeries, you’re just really grateful to be able to move freely.”

The 21-year-old has not been beyond the second round at a slam since her US Open triumph in 2021 but has a good opportunity here against 94th-ranked Chinese player Wang Yafan, where she will again be on her favourite 1573 Arena.

Should she win that one, she could find herself facing fellow British star Katie Boulter, although she has a tough draw against the top Chinese player, 12th seed Zheng Qinwen.

There was nothing straightforward about Jack Draper’s first Melbourne win, the 22-year-old struggling physically against Marcos Giron before fighting back to triumph in five sets and then immediately vomiting into a bin at the side of the court.

He later said that he thought the issue was largely related to the stress of performing on the big stage, something he hopes will change with experience.

Raducanu, who grew up alongside Draper as the big hopes of British tennis, believes it is a double-edged sword, saying: “I’ve been in situations serving out the US Open, serving out sets at the US Open in probably the most high-pressure scenarios you’ll ever get.

“It really doesn’t get easier, to be honest. I think you always are going to have an element of nerves, always going to have that stress.

“I think, the more matches you play, the more comfortable you feel in those scenarios because the more experience you have to anchor and pull back your feelings from.

“I think just getting on a roll of matches helps. I think I deal with match scenarios pretty well. I keep my cool.”

Draper was optimistic of recovering well for his next match, where he will be reunited with American 14th seed Tommy Paul.

The pair have met twice before, both in Adelaide, with the most recent match coming last week, when Draper triumphed 6-1 6-4.

“He’s obviously a great player,” said Draper. “First tournament of the year, maybe guys aren’t quite finding their game yet. The match I played against him, I was really solid. I played great tennis. But obviously five sets is different.

“It seems like he does well in the slams pretty regularly. He’s always in the fourth round, or I think he made semis here last year. He’s obviously playing well and likes the conditions.

“I think it definitely does help, though, having played him twice and obviously won twice. If that was me, then I would be a bit more fearful. But it will be a tough match, and he’ll be wanting to get some revenge on me for sure.”

British number one Cameron Norrie also has revenge on his mind ahead of his second-round clash with Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.

Their only previous meeting came on clay in Rome back in 2020, when Norrie won just four games.

The 28-year-old has moved his career on hugely since then but remains wary, saying: “He’s a young, talented player, lefty. I watched the end of his match. He played really well.

“He competes really well. Kind of plays a little bit similar to me. But it’s definitely going to be a tough match. Looking for some revenge from last time, because he beat me really easily.”

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