Emma Raducanu next faces Amanda Anisimova at the Australian Open: Is ‘major achievement’ around the corner? | Tennis news
Britain’s Emma Raducanu faces Amanda Anisimova next at the Australian Open on Thursday and Sky Sports’ Jonathan Overend believes ‘a big achievement is just around the corner.’
On Tuesday, Raducanu overcame serve problems to knock out 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and reach the second round in Melbourne.
The 22-year-old joked that her serve “had a mind of its own” as she hit 15 double faults, but she managed to finish off a volatile match to claim her best win at Melbourne Park, seeing off 31st-ranked Russian Alexandrova 7-6 (7-4). 7-6 (7-2).
The Briton has struggled with injuries and form since her stunning 2021 US Open success, but Sky Sports Tennis commentator Overend thinks it is wrong to write her off.
“She is ready to make another big performance in the future at the Grand Slam tournaments,” he said. “Yes, the service needs to work, but everything is positive and everything is moving in the right direction.
“I am in the camp of belief that another great achievement is at the door for Raducana in the next few years, instead of writing her off. Attitude as well as tennis gives me that belief.
“Two close sets and surviving when your serve isn’t working is something we’ve seen Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff have to deal with over the last few years, and they’re the two best players in the world in my form at the moment, so there’s no embarrassment for Raducana.
“I think what’s really good is the way she continues to deal with these relatively minor setbacks with such good humor and such humility.
“It’s so important and so refreshing to see in the cruel world of professional sports where so many athletes are so uptight and so prickly whenever criticism is leveled. Raducanu seems to be smiling through it and it’s so nice to see and so encouraging.”
Raducanu’s next opponent in Melbourne, Anisimova, stunned the tennis world when she reached the semifinals of the French Open at just 17 years old in 2019.
The American has yet to repeat that streak since a Grand Slam, reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2022, but she has made it past the fourth round four times in Australia so far – something Raducan has never managed, yet to get past the second round Down Under.
The Briton says she knows she has a tough competition ahead of her.
“I know she’s a big hitter. She hits the ball really hard,” Raducanu told the media.
“I practiced with her a couple of times, she likes to dictate, so I think it will be a big challenge for me, of course.
“She’s had some amazing results as well. She broke out really early. I’m looking forward to going out there and testing my game and seeing where I’m at.”
Two areas Raducanu admitted she needs to focus on are her serve and conditioning.
“I’m not sure what I changed in my service. I think it had its own opinion. I’ll definitely think about it and look at it,” she said.
“I think in the first set I was hitting a lot of good first serves. I was hitting a couple of aces. At the same time, I was hitting a double fault. I was pretty much accepting it, ‘OK, at least let’s go at it.’
“I think as the balls got heavier, it was a lot harder. There was more to come, it wasn’t easy to refocus, but I knew that even if I fell, I had great results. It was good to be able to rely on others parts of my game that I know are pretty strong.
“I’m just really proud that I didn’t let it affect me too much and let the game get away from me.”
On her physical fitness, Raducanu added: “I’m someone who’s very flexible and quite hypermobile. I think that’s where a lot of my flaws in the past came from, because I didn’t necessarily have enough power at the end ranges.
“That’s something I’m working on now, trying to limit any problems and injuries. We’ve just started it, so I want to see how it goes.”
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and The Sky Sports appgiving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
