All eyes were on British US Open champion Emma Raducanu as she faced US former world ranking number 3 Sloane Stephens in the first round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park.
This years tournament is Raducanu’s debut in Oz and just 17 minutes into the match she led 6-0, with Stephens eventually fighting back to take the match down to a deciding third set – the first third set Raducanu has faced in a slam.
Fans on Twitter felt the tension!
It turned out to be not so smooth sailing for Raducanu even after storming through the gates of the match in the first set. Stephens was proving herself as a worthy competitor as she came back a more engaged and consistent player. Raducanu struggled to push her shots through an athletic Stephens.
The two women left the court to take a comfort break after Stephens battled to successfully level up the match in her favour.
But the short break seemed to be all Raducanu needed to collect herself and come back swinging. Stephens continued to make mistakes and with an opponent like Raducanu taking advantage of each and every error, it didn’t take long for the match to finish with the Brit taking the victory.
“Both me and Sloane put everything out there and it was a very good match. In the third set I don’t think the score reflected the level out there because I was really feeling it. “
Emma Raducanu
Speaking post-match
Emma will proceed into the 2nd round where she will face Montenegrin Danka Kovinić on Thursday.
