Australian Open 2024: Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Jack Draper & Cameron Norrie play
- Published
Raducanu won 6-3 6-2 against Shelby Rogers on her Grand Slam return at the Australian Open
Australian Open 2024 |
|---|
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 14-28 January |
Coverage: Commentary daily from 07:00 GMT on Tennis Breakfast on Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, with selected live text commentaries and match reports on the BBC Sport website and app |
Britain's Emma Raducanu says she "trusts" her body as she prepares to play in the Australian Open second round on Thursday.
Two days after the opening win of her Grand Slam comeback, Raducanu faces China's Wang Yafan at about 05:00 GMT.
"I feel pretty comfortable," said Raducanu, who had eight months out after wrist and ankles surgeries.
Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter play on the 1573 Arena before Raducanu, with Jack Draper in action on the Kia Arena.
Raducanu, 21, is aiming to reach the Australian Open third round for the first time and take another encouraging step at the start of her long-awaited comeback.
After playing twice in Auckland earlier this month, her return to Grand Slam action began with a confident performance against American Shelby Rogers on Tuesday.
Now the former world number 10 has the chance to reach the last 32 at a major - for the time since her 2021 US Open triumph - by beating 94th-ranked Wang.
"I do trust my body, I've done a lot of good work physically in the last few months and the LTA have helped me off the court to build that foundation," said Raducanu, who is playing under a protected injury ranking of 103.
"It's only the beginning and I know there is a lot more work to do. But I feel pretty comfortable in my body and not thinking 'I've got to get this over with quickly'.
"It's about getting matches under my belt and more familiarity with certain situations."
Who are the other Brits facing?
British men's number one Norrie, seeded 19th, starts at 11:00 local time in Melbourne (00:00 GMT) against Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.
Norrie said he is looking for "some revenge" against the 22-year-old world number 133 after winning just four games against him on the Rome clay in 2020.
"He competes really well and kind of plays a little bit similar to me. It's definitely going to be a tough match," Norrie said.
Boulter, who has taken over as Britain's women's number one, faces Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen straight after on the 3,000-capacity small show-court.
If Boulter wins, Raducanu will have the chance afterwards to set up an all-British match against her in the third round.
Draper plays American 14th seed Tommy Paul on Kia Arena - the venue's fourth biggest court which holds 5,000 - at about 13:00 local time (02:00 GMT).
Paul was a semi-finalist in Melbourne last year, but 22-year-old Draper beat him on his way to the Adelaide final last week.
"Obviously five sets is different and it seems like he does well in the Slams pretty regularly," said Draper, who also won their other meeting in 2023.
"I think it definitely does help having played him twice and won twice."
Who else is playing on Thursday?
Polish women's number one Iga Swiatek, aiming for an 18th successive win, opens on Rod Laver Arena at 12:00 (01:00 GMT) against 2022 finalist Danielle Collins.
Spanish men's second seed Carlos Alcaraz takes on Italy's Lorenzo Sonego as he looks to reach the third round for only the second time.
The night session starts at 19:00 (08:00 GMT) when Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina plays Anna Blinkova.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 and 2022 men's runner-up, follows against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.