Emma Raducanu has continued her impressive start to the US Open after beating qualifier Janice Tjen in quick fashion.
Raducanu won her quickest ever match at the US Open in the first round, and has gone on to break that record again after beating Tjen in exactly an hour.
Martina Navratilova was impressed with Raducanu’s footwork in particular in her first round match, and she continued to show what she has been working on again.
As a result of her two straight sets wins, Raducanu will now play former doubles partner Elena Rybakina in the third round.
Emma Raducanu explains why she wants to face top players like Elena Rybakina
At the time of Raducanu’s press conference, Rybakina had not yet played her second round match against Tereza Valentova, but she was still asked about that potential encounter.
In her response, Raducanu revealed that she was actually looking forward to testing herself against the former Wimbledon champion, and spoke about her recent matches with Aryna Sabalenka.
“Yeah, I do,” Raducanu said when asked if she wants to play top players. “I think she’s a top opponent, you know she has won Wimbledon, she’s been at the top of the game for so long and very dominant and has big weapons, has a huge serve, big ground strokes, and I do want to see how my game suits and fits against the top.
“I still think I have a long way to go, but I think I have been making steps towards getting closer and narrowing that gap.
“I have to take confidence from my matches against Aryna in Cincy [Cincinnati] and Wimby [Wimbledon], but Elena’s a different opponent and she beat Aryna in Cincy in straight sets, so it’s going to be a tough match if she wins today, but we will see on the result.”
World number 10 Rybakina will be the first seed that Raducanu has come up against at the US Open this year, in what will be a second meeting between the pair.
Raducanu will be hoping that things go better than her last match against Rybakina in Sydney in 2022, where she won just one game.
Emma Raducanu provides fitness update ahead of her third round match at the US Open
Fitness has been a big concern for Raducanu since winning the US Open in 2021, having undergone surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle.
However, more recently it has been related to her back, which she was seen stretching out at points during her victory over Tjen.
When queried about this, Raducanu suggested that it was nothing to be too concerned about and she just felt a bit stiff.
Raducanu said, “I just had a little bit of stiffness in the second set, I think I’ve been doing a lot of training and I’m just happy it didn’t affect me too much in the second set and I was still able to compete and to perform and keep pulling out good serves, and I think it didn’t really come too much into the match which I am happy with.”
The 22-year-old will hope that her body continues to hold up, as Raducanu looks to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the first time since 2021.
Raducanu will play Rybakina in the third round of the US Open on Friday, August 29.
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