Emma Raducanu says she is ‘proud’ of her Australian Open win over Ekaterina Alexandrova despite suffering from significant serving issues.
The British tennis star, unseeded at Melbourne Park, conjured up a 7-6 7-6 victory to eliminate the 26th-seed and book her spot in the second round.
It was a topsy-turvy win for Raducanu, who hit 15 double faults and was clearly struggling with her second serve as she was broken six times.
Ahead of her next match against American world No.35 Amanda Anisimova, though, Raducanu is keen to focus on the positives, such as the nine aces she produced in Tuesday’s win over her Russian opponent.
‘I’m not sure what I changed in my serve today,’ Raducanu said after appearing to adopt a more open grip. ‘I think it had a mind of its own!
‘I will be sure to reflect, look at that and come back to you. I think in the first set I was hitting a lot of good first serves.
‘I hit a few aces. At the same time, I was hitting a double fault. I was quite accepting of that: ‘OK, I’m at least going for it’.’
Raducanu could be set for a showdown with world No.2 Iga Swiatek in the third round if she manages to beat Anisimova on Thursday.
But the 22-year-old, who incredibly won the US Open as qualifier in 2021, just wants to take things one step at the time for now.
‘My goal this year, it’s not to be too high or too low, keeping pretty level,’ Raducanu added. ‘Even after today, it’s great to win a match on tour for the first time in a few months.
‘I think I just want to look at it, celebrate it for what it is, and just kind of move on.
‘It was good to be able to rely on other parts of my game today that I know are quite strong, as well.
‘I’m just proud I didn’t let it affect me too much and let the match run away from me.’