Australian Open: Jack Draper explains why he was sick in bin as Emma Raducanu feels love in Melbourne
Emma Raducanu felt the love on her grand-slam return as she eased to victory over Shelby Rogers in the first round of the Australian Open.
Playing her first major tournament since a second-round exit to Coco Gauff here last year following surgery on both wrists and one ankle, the 21-year-old produced an assured performance to beat the American 6-3 6-2. A packed arena showed how much interest there is in Raducanu’s comeback, and this was the sort of routine win she will hope to achieve regularly throughout the season. Raducanu was cheered loudly throughout and, after clenching her fist and waving to all sides of the arena, she gave her towel to a fan she recognised who had supported her in New York.
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Hide Ad“Going out there today I think I was a little bit taken aback by just the support straight when I walked out,” she said. “I think it was better than any year I’ve really had before here. It was just amazing to see all the signs, hear the support. It was pretty incredible. So I was very happy to be able to play in those sort of circumstances again. I gave the towel to Mark. He was actually there every round at US Open. I didn’t know he was here. I just saw him in the crowd. He’s very vocal. It was actually great to have him there to get me through. He’s very passionate and enthusiastic. It was his birthday.”
Raducanu moved well, served strongly and showed good touch at the net and on a couple of drop shots, while she saw the funny side of a delay to one service game in the second set while a ball girl tried to capture a bug that had landed on the court. She is yet to reach the third round in Melbourne but looks to have a good chance ahead of a second-round clash with China’s Wang Yafan on Thursday.
Whether or not Raducanu can find a way through that one, she is simply enjoying being able to play pain free. “I honestly didn’t know if I’d ever get to this stage,” she said. “I had pain for so long. I was playing since before the US swing in 2022 all the way before surgery. I think this year and now there’s just a lot more calm.”
Draper prevails but is sick in bin
Jack Draper blamed stress for the physical struggles that led to him vomiting in a courtside bin at the end of his five-set win over Marcos Giron.
It is a measure of how inexperienced the 22-year-old still is at the highest level that he had never previously played a match that went the distance, and he looked in serious trouble at two sets to one down against American Giron in 31 degree heat at the Australian Open. But Draper has been working hard on his physical conditioning and it paid off as he fought back to win 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-0 6-2 after three hours and 20 minutes.
As soon as he had shaken hands with Giron after a final gruelling rally he ran to the bin to be sick and it was several minutes before he was able to walk off the court. “It was weird,” Draper said. “I obviously played such a long point, maybe it was sort of a reaction to finally getting over the line. I don’t know. I kind of felt bad because I obviously just beat the guy, and I was saying, ‘I need to shake your hand, mate, but I need to get to that bin’.”
Draper was left with mixed feelings, saying of his physical conditioning: “I’m obviously nowhere near where I want to be still, but it’s coming. For sure I would have cramped in these matches last year, even maybe four months ago. It was obviously a physical match. It’s tough conditions. It wasn’t that long for a five-set match. I played three hours 40 (minutes) last week in hotter conditions and I was physically absolutely fine.
“It’s obviously a grand slam. It’s tougher sort of with the tension to play that first match. I think I’m still a young player, so getting used to the environment around these slams and the tension is difficult. There’s no doubting I’m really proud to come through this match and I think it is really important for me.”
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Hide AdDraper will hope to have enough time to recover ahead of his second-round clash with Tommy Paul – who he beat last week on his way to the final of the Adelaide International – on Thursday.
Norrie and Boulter progress
There were more straightforward wins for Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter. Norrie dispelled concerns over the wrist problem that forced him out of last week’s tournament in Auckland with a routine 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory over Juan Pablo Varillas, while Boulter defeated Yuan Yue 7-5 7-6 (1). The British number one missed two match points serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, one with a double fault and the other an unforced error, but put the setback behind her to dominate the tie-break.
“It wasn’t easy at all,” said Boulter. “I felt like that was my moment to really dig in, take a deep breath and start again. It took a lot of strength to come back from that. I feel like I relish that situation because I know how tough I am and I know that I can get myself out of it. I managed to bring some of the better tennis that I played of the day out in the biggest moment. I think, if I’ve learned anything over these years, that’s what the best players in the world do.”
Evans edged out by Sonego
However, Dan Evans was unable to complete a perfect day for the British players at the Australian Open. The British number two admitted on Friday that he is not yet back to his physical best after tearing his calf in October and while he began very well against talented Italian Sonego, the result might well have been different had he taken a second-set tie-break in which he led 4-0. But Sonego fought back well, saving one set point at 8-7 before clinching it on his third chance, and he was the stronger player thereafter.
Evans called the trainer to have his thigh massaged but continued to fight doggedly, saving seven break points at 4-4 in the fourth set. He then recovered from 5-0 down in the tie-break but agonisingly missed a forehand that would have levelled proceedings and Sonego took his first match point.