Emma Raducanu is off to a hot start at this year’s US Open, having dropped just six games en route to the third round.
In round one, Raducanu defeated Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2, and she beat Janice Tjen in the second round just as convincingly, winning 6-2, 6-1.
The Briton will now face her biggest test of the tournament so far in the form of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who is the ninth seed in New York.
Raducanu will look to pick up her biggest win by ranking of the American hard-court swing, in which she has been under the wing of new coach Francisco Roig, who British tennis legend Tim Henman thinks has been a great appointment.
Tim Henman reacts to Emma Raducanu’s training under her new coach
When asked about the impact Roig has had on the British number one, Henman said: “He is not teaching her to hit new shots but just that little bit of input around game plan and strategy.
“I am personally not someone who reads into practice a great deal, certainly she has played a lot of tennis.
“But just to see her out there, she is absolutely crushing the ball. Her ball striking has always been good but I think there is more speed, and she is taking it early. I think that’s the emphasis that she is making, those incremental improvements all the time.
“When you think about the match-up with Rybakina in the third round, she is another huge ball striker, so I’m sure they will go toe to toe from the back of the court.
“It’s whether Raducanu can show that bit of variation and the change of pace with a bit more shape and the slice backhand.
“Rybakina is very good moving side to side, but not so comfortable moving forward and backwards, so whether she will be able to bring that variation we will see tomorrow.”
Emma Raducanu’s record with Francisco Roig so far
Raducanu has looked promising with Roig in her corner so far, having earned three wins from four matches since the hire.
Their first match working together was at the Cincinnati Open, where she defeated Olga Danilovic in straight sets.
She then met world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the second round, against whom she had her best performance to date, taking a set of the Belarusian before ultimately bowing out of the tournament.
At the US Open so far, she has earned two dominant victories, and things look to be on the up for Raducanu with the Spaniard in her team.
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