Emma Raducanu beats world No 196 after sluggish start at Australian Open

Emma Raducanu earned the support of the Australian fans, who dubbed her “Raddo”, as she showed her cold-eyed competitive streak to battle through an otherwise forgettable match.

The British No 1 can be grateful that her seeding protected her from anything too challenging in round one, because her disrupted off-season has left her short of form and confidence.

Facing Mananchaya Sawangkaew, the world No 196, Raducanu got off to a horrible start in which she was bullied around the court by her diminutive opponent: a 5ft 4in Thai who had never played a match at a major before.

At one stage, Raducanu trailed 1-3, 15-40 on her own serve, with a double-break on the cards. This was the moment when she managed to pull back on the controls and break out of her steep dive, finding three forehand winners on the next four points.

Sawangkaew had made a nerveless start but now her own forehand began to malfunction. She finished the match with 21 unforced errors to place against just nine winners.

As for Raducanu, she started to look more comfortable as she pushed on to a 6-4, 6-1 victory in 71 minutes. 

Even so, this was not the most convincing of performances. Her movement was sluggish early on, and her ball-speed was low off the ground. She will need to sharpen up if she is to defeat the dangerous Russian-turned-Austrian Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday.

Full report to follow…