- Emma Raducanu bested No 26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in Melbourne
- It was an uncomfortable win for the Brit despite winning in straight sets
- She’ll now face American star Amanda Anisimova in the second round
It was rarely pretty and never comfortable but Emma Raducanu is into the second round of the Australian Open after a creditable 7-6, 7-6 win against No 26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The 22-year-old was attacked by jumping ants before the tournament but here it was the second serve gremlins, and the ensuing allergic reaction brought 15 double faults.
But Raducanu generally played well and with some impressive problem solving on the fly – helped by the odd word from coach Nick Cavaday – she won only her fourth Grand Slam match against a seeded opponent.
The British No2 appeared to be debuting yet another tweak to her serve – this time a grip change – and her second delivery was extremely inconsistent.
The first serve was fine – 57 per cent in and nine aces – but in the first set Raducanu won only 18 per cent of her second-serve points. The double faults were the main culprits but even when the second serve went in Alexandrova was brutalising it. The fact Raducanu was still able to take the set showed how well the rest of her game was operating.
Alexandrova, 30, has an all-or-nothing style and the combination of that and Raducanu’s service woes made this a match of discordant rhythm.
Emma Raducanu let out a huge roar as she booked her place in the second round of the Australian Open
The British star completed a 7-6 7-6 victory against 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova (pictured)
Raducanu generally played well and with some impressive problem solving on the fly
Raducanu hit five double faults and five aces across her first two service games; her opponent is from the Urals but it was Raducanu playing Russian roulette.
The in-and-out serving was surely down to an apparent grip change: Raducanu’s racket face was much more open, in theory allowing for more spin.
Raducanu suffered a back spasm which curtailed her pre-season, so perhaps that injury disrupted her work on the service tweak.
Whatever the reason, the first set was an almighty struggle. Raducanu eventually steadied up, cutting down on the doubles at the expense of aces.
The tiebreak arrived after eight breaks of serve in nine games and Raducanu held her nerve while Alexandrova made three bad errors on her normally potent forehand.
In the second set Raducanu was casting frequent glances at coach Nick Cavaday on her service games and he always responded with the universal hand signal for ‘kick’.
That is the spin which allows players to control the flight and direction of a second serve and while Raducanu has never been a natural kick server she did get a little more work on the ball as the match progressed and started to serve tighter to her opponent’s body, denying her the room to free up her arms.
The double faults resurfaced in the middle of the second set, with three in one game but she still managed three holds in a row.
The British No2 appeared to be debuting yet another tweak to her serve – this time a grip change but her second serve consistency was extremely inconsistent
Raducanu (right) did a lot wrong but did a lot right too but it was impressive to see her best tennis come to life during the two tiebreaks
Serving for the match she took a 30-0 lead but Alexandrova landed a couple of blows with her pancake-flat groundstrokes and Raducanu double faulted on break point.
She responded with a gutsy hold to take us into a second tiebreak in which she was quite brilliant, taking it 7-2.
There is always an element with Raducanu of watching a talented young player figure out things on the fly and this was certainly one of those days.
She did a lot wrong but a lot right too and most impressive was the fact that comfortably her best tennis came in the two tiebreaks.
In the second round, Raducanu will face another former teenage star, USA’s Amanda Anisimova.
