Just a few games into Emma Raducanu’s first contest of the new season, it was clear that an uncomfortable day lay ahead. Having been forced to withdraw from her first scheduled tournament, Raducanu arrived at the Australian Open rusty and undercooked.
Under the heightened stress of a grand slam first round match, Raducanu’s serve was completely out of control, double faults cascading from her racket.
As was the case with Jack Draper on the same court less than 24 hours earlier, the end goal for any player in this situation is simple: survive for another day so that there are more opportunities during the tournament to improve.
Raducanu showed her survival instincts by fighting through a self-sabotaging 15 double faults to deliver a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) win over Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, in the first round of the Australian Open.