Australian Open: Raducanu through to 2nd round in Melbourne, will face American Coco Gauff
- British No 1 shakes off ankle injury, eases to 6-3, 6-2 win over Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch
- Third-seed Jessica Pegula also makes strong start in her quest for first grand slam singles title
Emma Raducanu put her injury worries behind her with victory over Tamara Korpatsch at the Australian Open on Monday to set up a second-round clash with Coco Gauff.
The British No 1 had the left ankle she rolled in Auckland 11 days ago taped up but grew in confidence through the match and eased to a 6-3, 6-2 win after an hour and 25 minutes.
While it was undoubtedly a reason to celebrate, this was also a gentle lob of a draw, with German Korpatsch, ranked one place ahead of Raducanu at 76, inexperienced at this level and a lot more comfortable on clay than hard courts.
Seventh seed Gauff, who defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-4, will offer a significantly different challenge as she looks to emulate Raducanu by winning a slam.
Although she is more than a year younger than Raducanu, Gauff has already played for 3½ on the main tour, climbing into the top 10 and establishing the sort of solid base her next opponent is still seeking.
Given a warm welcome on a packed mid-sized arena, Raducanu initially looked hesitant on serve and stretching out wide to her backhand.
