Late arrival Raducanu wins first round match

Despite only arriving in Melbourne late on Friday Emma Raducanu secured a first-round win at the Australian Open, defeating Thailand’s world No 195 Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the last match on opening day on Margaret Court Arena

Although it was a long day for Raducanu, she did not have to play in searing day time heat.

The quarter finalist at last weeks Hobart International made  a slow start but then  rattled off 10 of the next 11 games to race  to a 6-4 6-1 victory against the diminutive Thai debutante.

“I feel very happy to have gotten through that match,” Raducanu said, speaking after her win.

“From the beginning, she was playing incredibly well – all of her returns and shots seemed to be dropping on the baseline.

“It made life very difficult and so I’m really proud of how I fought back in the first set.

She played some incredible tennis, way higher than her ranking is currently and I’m sure she’s going to do good things this year.”

The 23 year old British No 1 has achieved her goal of being seeded at a Grand Slam again .

She aced her first match point to make it a flawless 5-0 in first-round matches at the Australian Open.

A much stiffer test awaits her in the second round against world No 55 Anastasia Potapova  followed by a potential third-round clash with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.