Tennis civil war at Australian Open as Emma Raducanu survives a shocker

Emma Raducanu became the record-equalling fifth British player to reach the second round of the Australian Open today. And British No.1 Katie Boulter will have the chance to complete the full half dozen when she plays in the evening session later. But Cam Norrie struggled with illness as he was knocked out after failing to break the serve of former Wimbledon Matteo Berrettini.

Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina revealed her suspended coach had helped her preparations for her first-round win. And world No.13 Holger Rune came through a five-set battle against the Chinese No.1 Zhang Zhizhen while Gael Monfils won the French derby against big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. There will be four British singles players in action on Wednesday – and Jack Draper’s opponent has been involved in a public slanging match with an Aussie tennis legend…

Raducanu survives serving shocker
The former US Open champion sent down 15 double faults with her new service action to reach the second round of the Australian Open. “I’m not sure what I changed in my serve today,” she said. “I think it had a mind of its own.” The British No.2 had her serve broken six times and won only one of her first 15 points on her second serve. But she also fired down nine aces in her match of Russian roulette against No.26 Ekaterina Alexandrova to win 7-6 7-6 on breezy Court 3. There were 12 breaks of serve in all.

“I’m very pleased to have come through that match,” said Raducanu. “It was difficult. It was quite hot out there, getting quite sunny. Obviously playing against a really experienced and seeded opponent who is playing great tennis. I think I’m very proud of how I fought and how I overcame certain situations in that match.”

Norrie feeling down and out
The 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini fired down 32 aces as he blew away the British No.2 6-7 6-4 6-1 6-3 victory. Norrie won six consecutive points from 1-4 down in the first set tiebreak to take the lead but then revealed he ran out of gas because of illness. “I haven’t been able to prepare as well as I could,” he said. “I’ve been pretty sick in Auckland, then coming here. Just barely practiced. Honestly, I’ve been feeling the ball so well. Pre-season was excellent.

“It was a bit unfortunate with the timing. I definitely gave myself the best chance. Just hit the wall after like an hour and a bit. I was not able to stay sharp on the court. Most importantly just get my health back to 100 per cent, get some rest. Just tough to sustain that today.

“I think his serve is unbelievable, it’s very, very accurate. It’s not just the serve. He’s got a great forehand. Yeah, I think honestly I have a really good game to play him. I was not able to do that today.”