Emma Raducanu made a successful begin to 2023 with victory over teenager Linda Fruhvirtova in her opening match on the ASB Traditional in Auckland.
The Briton, 20, got here by way of 4-6 6-4 6-2 towards the 17-year-old Czech rising star in a rain-affected match.
Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, was a set and a break down towards an opponent ranked one place decrease than her on the planet at 79th.
However she received 4 video games on the trot to vary the momentum and win the match.
“I used to be like, you must cease this and simply decide it up, like be extra aggressive and swing extra freely,” stated Raducanu about her change in fortunes.
“It is all the time tough enjoying your first match of the 12 months, so it was all the time going to be a bit of little bit of a problem, particularly with the circumstances.
“I used to be loving the help. I felt like everybody was behind me and I completely cherished it. Some moments it was tough within the rating and I’d hear a younger child say ‘Come on Emma’ and I used to be like, ‘come on, let’s go’.”
She ended her 2022 marketing campaign in early October with a wrist damage and took a brief break to spend time with family and friends earlier than beginning a two-month block of health coaching.
Raducanu will subsequent face Slovak Viktoria Kuzmova, the world quantity 105.
High-seeded American Coco Gauff marched into the final 16, beating Germany’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-1 to finish a five-match dropping streak.
In the meantime, in Adelaide, Chinese language qualifier Zheng Qinwen precipitated a shock with a win over Estonian former world quantity two Anett Kontaveit.
Zheng, the 2022 WTA Newcomer of the Yr, saved a match level within the closing set earlier than successful 6-1 4-6 7-6 (9-7).
She’s going to subsequent face former world primary and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus who recovered from 5-1 down within the first set to defeat Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5)
Latvia’s 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko additionally superior to the second spherical after beating former world primary Karolina Pliskova 6-1 6-3.
