Coco Gauff overcomes battling Emma Raducanu to move into round three of 2023 Australian Open

Coco Gauff moved into round three of the Australian Open after a 6-3 7-6(4) victory over Emma Raducanu.

Two of the tour’s bright young stars went head-to-head on Rod Laver with the American coming out on top in straight sets.

It was a nervous opening few minutes for both, as Raducanu tried to take advantage of a few unforced errors in Gauff’s game, but the American’s backhand proved once again the damage that it could cause, taking an early 3-1 lead.

The former US Open winner responded by taking the next game; earning a third break point of the match after Gauff netted, but she couldn’t make it count, backhanding it wide. That didn’t deter her though, and after setting up another break chance, her aggression forced Gauff to double fault on the next.

Raducanu struggled to get a read on Gauff’s serve, and the 18-year-old’s variety in play, specifically the spins in her shots on the forehand, meant that she was able to take a 5-2 lead. The next game was all Raducanu, though, as her shots had Gauff chasing the ball all around the court, with a backhand winner putting her at 40-0. After Gauff grabbed a point of her own, she found the net, making it 5-3.

It continued to go back and forth, with Gauff taking the first two points of the next game, but some unforced errors and a killer forehand from Raducanu saw it become 30-30, with the Briton then fashioning break points. Gauff managed to hold off the first two, but the back and forth continued as Raducanu claimed the third. Gauff’s serving, however was just too consistent for her opponent, and she managed to claim the first set 6-3.

With a combined 36 unforced errors between the two players in the first set - 21 from Raducanu, and 15 from Gauff - the message to minimise them was clear.

The American started the second strong, rushing Raducanu into mistakes, coming up near the net to catch her out, making it easy to rush to a 3-1 lead.

Raducanu, who had a clear stomach issue, then went on a fantastic run to win several games in a row to make it 5-4. The Brit struggled with her serve, its speed dropping drastically, but in a huge turnaround, Gauff consistently could not keep the ball in, something that was not happening in the first set, and the momentum began to turn into Raducanu’s favour.

Despite being on top, Raducanu tried to force in some complicated play, which played right into the hands of the American, who took a 40-15 lead. A mistake though gave Raducanu the set point, and she managed a second after a good return. After an ambitious drop shot attempt fell into the net, Gauff, whose forehand had suddenly become very weak, managed to hold on.

Raducanu’s hold to love made it 6-5, but Gauff took the next game to take it to a second set tie-break to decide it. Raducanu won the opening point but lost a 17-stroke rally. The 20-year-old continued to fall short in decisive moments, giving Gauff a 5-2 lead. With four match points to win, Gauff’s first was saved with a backhand winner and she put her second into the net. The third ended with a lob volley that Raducanu could only manage to hit into the net, securing the second-round win and a spot in the third round for Gauff.

“Emma was playing really good tennis towards the end of the match," said Gauff after her victory.

"The whole match was great. In the beginning, we both started off rocky, but the match was good quality for the most part, [especially] considering the circumstances. This was a long-anticipated match-up since the draw came out, so I’m glad it was a good match.

“At a Grand Slam, you have to win seven matches, and when you go into the tournament, you have to expect to play the best. You hope it’s not in the second round, but that’s what you [sometimes] have to do. I feel like we handled the pressure pretty well, and kudos to Emma. She had a tough week in Auckland, so good for her to play at this level after such a scary moment.”

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