Emma Raducanu 'hitting the ball really well,' says Jodie Burrage ahead of Australian Open in Melbourne
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Published 13/01/2024 at 16:54 GMT
Emma Raducanu is "hitting the ball really well" ahead of the 2024 Australian Open, according to her British compatriot Jodie Burrage. Raducanu returned from an eight-month injury lay-off earlier this month, and is set to play Shelby Rogers in the first round in Melbourne on Tuesday. Burrage says she is "excited" to see how Raducanu performs back in the slams.
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British No. 2 Jodie Burrage has played up compatriot Emma Raducanu’s chances at the 2024 Australian Open.
Raducanu is competing at the year's first Grand Slam after recovering from surgery on her wrists and ankle back in May.
She won the first match of her comeback against Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse, but faltered in the second round of the ASB Classic against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
Despite pulling out of two exhibition events in Melbourne this week, Burrage confirmed the 2021 US Open champion is fit and ready to play her Australian Open first-round match against Shelby Rogers.
“I hit with Emma way over on Court 11,” said Burrage. “She was absolutely creaming the ball, proper going for it. It was a good practice actually; we played some good points.
“It’s nice to see her back on the court, back playing some really good stuff as well. It will be really interesting to see what she does this week. As I said, she's hitting the ball really, really well. I'm excited for her.
“It will be good to see what all of us British girls can do this week. I think the conditions do suit us if we have our aggressive game style out there.”
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Burrage is set to make her main-draw debut at the 2024 Australian Open, which gets under way on Sunday live on Eurosport and discovery+.
The world No. 102 has a first-round encounter against Tamara Korpatsch, who is 21 places above her in the rankings.
“I played her [Korpatsch] twice at back end of last year and lost twice, so I know a lot about her,” Burrage said. “The last match was an absolute battle. I've been watching a few clips the last few days of those matches. I think it's going to be another battle out there.
“If I really commit to the game I want to play, my aggressive style, serve well, I know that I can get it done against her.
“She's going to throw a lot at me. She's a very crafty player, makes a lot of balls, but I have the confidence to get it done.”
The 24-year-old Burrage has a career-high WTA ranking of 85, but is hoping to break the top 75 this season.
“This year I really just want to secure myself in the top 100 – I think I've already dropped to 102 or something,” she explained.
“I've not got many points to defend the next few months because of my injuries last year. It kind of gives me a free run to take a stab at a few of the bigger tournaments, yeah, try to cement my top 100 ranking.
“Once I get into that place, then look at where I can get to. I mean, I'd love to say I want to finish the year top 50 or whatever. I think realistic goal is top 75.”
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