Emma Raducanu will take on five-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek after battling through more injury problems to beat Amanda Anisimova in the second round of the Australian Open.
The former US Open champion had her preparations for the tournament disrupted by a back spasm and she had treatment for what appeared to be a lower back issue during the second set.
There were five more double faults – a significant improvement on the 15 in her first-round win over Ekaterina Alexandrova – but that did not stop her reaching the last 32 for the first time here thanks to a 6-3 7-5 victory over big-hitting American Anisimova.
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Now she will get a fourth crack at world number two Swiatek, who she is yet to win a set against.
“This is a slam that I love playing at so to make it past the second round means a lot to me,” said Raducanu.
“It’s incredibly difficult whenever you play a friend, it adds another dimension to the match and not necessarily a pleasant one. I think I did a good job. I knew I had to not go away in the second set.”
She continued: “It was tricky today, it was a little bit windy, there was sun on one side. Both in patches had some moments with our serve. The way I managed to regroup at the end of the first, I was pretty proud of that.
“It’s difficult. I haven’t played a match in a very long time. The way I play is pretty athletic, I use my body a lot.
“I was feeling it a little bit but I’m glad I have a little bit of time to recover before my next match. It’s another opportunity to test my game. I have nothing to lose. I’m going to give it my best.”
Raducanu and Anisimova are friends off court and there are similarities in their tennis stories, the American first reaching the fourth round here and the French Open quarter-finals as a 17-year-old.
But the pressure of expectation and life on tour ground her down and she took most of the 2023 season off for mental health reasons, turning to painting.
Raducanu, too, took up art at her grandmother’s house in China while recuperating from injuries, but insisted heading into this season that her love for the game and the battle is as strong as ever.
Anisimova has pulled off some big wins at grand slams, especially in Melbourne, and is one of the purest natural ball strikers on tour.
That was evident as the American moved into a 3-1 lead, with the Raducanu serve holding up better but Anisimova drilling returns and seizing on anything short.
Anisimova had two chances to lead 4-1 but could not take either and from there Raducanu dug in well, surviving more pressure to hold serve for the first time and mixing up her game intelligently.
Five games in a row gave her the first set but there had been a few winces from Raducanu during service games and looks towards new fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura.
In the opening game of the second set, she served three double faults, all from the left side, and then asked umpire Mohamed Lahyani to call the trainer.
By the time she took a medical time-out, she was 3-0 down, but, although the grimaces from Raducanu continued, the break seemed to affect Anisimova more and a succession of errors from the 23-year-old allowed the British player to pull level.
Raducanu had more treatment after dropping serve again to trail 4-3 but she still clearly believed she could win the match and, after yet another break, two big fists pumps greeted a hold to put her within one game of victory.
Anisimova withstood the pressure that time but, two games later, a forehand winner to end a fine back-and-forth point brought up a first match point, and Raducanu took it, dropping her racket to the court and putting her hands to her head in celebration.
