Briton overcomes Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1
Thai opponent shines in first set before falling away
Emma Raducanu rallied impressively from a slow start and early deficit to open her Australian Open with a solid victory, moving into the second round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
Raducanu had struggled early on, trailing 1-3, 15-40 against an impressive Sawangkaew. However, she found her form quickly, rolling through 11 of the subsequent 13 games to close out a comfortable victory.
“I feel very happy to have gotten through the match,” said Raducanu. “From the beginning, I felt like she was playing incredibly well. All of her returns and shots seemed to fall on the baseline and were really difficult. So I’m really happy with how I was able to fight back.”
