Emma Raducanu confident of making 'strides' this year after Coco Gauff defeat at Australian Open
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Updated 18/01/2023 at 18:07 GMT
Emma Raducanu was beaten in the second round of the Australian Open by Coco Gauff. Raducanu believes that the pair will form part of the "next generation" of tennis players and is looking forward to her next meeting with Gauff. Raducanu also spoke about how she expects to make "strides" on the tour over the next six months with new coach Sebastian Sachs.
Australian Open highlights - Gauff overcomes Raducanu challenge
Emma Raducanu predicted she and Coco Gauff will be the “next generation” of women’s tennis players and is confident she will make significant progress this year.
Raducanu showed some promising signs during the match but couldn’t take two set points to force a decider.
She will now return to the practice court along with new coach Sebastian Sachs and plot her way back up the rankings.
“I’m looking forward to putting in the work and having a good system in place that I’m buying into and trusting the work that I’m doing with my team,” said the world No. 77.
“I’m feeling good and confident that in six months’ time, it’s not going to be the finished product, but hopefully I would have made strides.
“I know right now that I’m not going to beat Coco by pushing the ball in and trying to outrun her. That’s not how I want to play, either. I want to be an aggressive player. I didn’t want to get into long, extended rallies with her considering the condition I’m currently in. That’s the way I want to play in the future.”
Raducanu’s preparation for the Australian Open was disrupted after she suffered an ankle injury in Auckland earlier this month.
Considering the injury she looked impressive in her first-round win at Melbourne, and did well to win several long exchanges with seventh seed Gauff.
“If you’d told me 13 days ago that I’d be in the draw, it would’ve been a massive effort, for sure,” she said.
“Saying that, I still think I didn’t necessarily play my best today, although in the second set I had chances and was pushing. I still don’t think I did my best, but props to her, she’s a great opponent and athlete.
“The limited practice time meant it’s been difficult to play matches and be in that condition. I think we’ve done a good job to get me on court this week. I’ve got a lot of work to do from here and moving forward.
“I’d love to play Coco again. With more than five hours under my belt of practice, perhaps, but she’s a great opponent. We’re going to be playing each other many more times because we’re both young and upcoming. We’re going to be the next generation.”
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'I feel for her' - Gauff says she can 'relate' to Raducanu's tricky career
Gauff faces Bernarda Pera in the next round as she continues her quest for a first Grand Slam title.
Gauff burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old and says she can relate to Raducanu, who has been in the spotlight since her US Open win as a teenager.
"Coming in on tour young, it's a different life from juniors, playing in smaller events, to all of a sudden people knowing your name, people expecting you to win all the time," said Gauff.
"For me, last year was my first full year on tour. I think last year was her first full year as well. It's something that people need to remember and be reminded of.
"Fans are eager to see a new face of the game. It's also a reminder, even if we didn't play tennis, we're normal teenagers living our life. If we made a mistake, people would say, 'You're just 20, you're 18 years old, you can bounce back'.
"I think people need to kind of relate that to tennis, as well. Tennis is one of those sports, especially in the women's game, used to having young stars. Everybody is expecting everyone to be at the top of their game."
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