On Sunday, British No. 1 Emma Raducanu achieved its first US Open victory since her historical title run of 2021, opening the game on day 1 at Louis Armstrong Stadium with an emphatic 6-1 6-2 over the Japanese Ena Shibahara.
I really wanted to win a competition here. I was nervous this morning after the training. Not much time is playing. You are a bit, hurry to do things. I was nervous in practice. Afterwards, after I got out of the shower, I felt that I just got into the zone, got my competition kit, and that, for me, a shift is of: “Okay, you’re going to get ready, now lock it.” Emma Raducanu
The 22-year-old from Bromley only needed 62 minutes to send the qualification and continue to the 2nd round in a style in New York.
“I am very, very happy that I won that game,” said Raducanu after the game. “It’s my first victory here since 2021, so it’s extra special.
“The first rounds are always difficult, and, especially in a slam, you know, there are nerves. So I am just so happy with the way I got through it and Ena plays, she is really difficult.
“She clearly came through the qualification, and you feel that you have a bit of an advantage that you have played on the surface, and I know how that feels. So I am just very happy with how I have managed myself and managed my game through that game.”
The dominance of Raducanu from the start on the left Shibahara with little chance when she broke in the service early and ran to a 5-0 lead in the opener before the Japanese got themselves on the board and then closed the set in just 26 minutes.
She again broke into the opening match of the second and took a 4-0 lead, before Shibahara earned herself a few games again, but it was all too late when Raducanu sealed the victory in some comfort.
Raducanu was confronted with only 1 breaking point in the game and only made 6 casual mistakes in the game when she improved her record against qualifications to 3-1 in her Grand Slam career, with the only loss that came to Kiwi Lulu Sun in the 4th round in Wimbledon last year.
Emma Raducanu’s Serve was on songs and she only made 5 casual mistakes in the 1st round game against Ena Shibahara
© Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
On 36 ranked, Raducanu was sowing closely, and is now a dangerous Dloer in the main table, which is far removed from her last 3 performances in New York.
“I really wanted to win a match here,” Raducanu said in her press conference after the game. “I was nervous this morning after training. There is not much time playing. You are a bit, hurry to do things. I was nervous in practice.
“Afterwards, after I got out of the shower, I felt that I just got into the zone, got my competition kit, and that, for me, a shift is of:” Okay, you’re going to get ready, now lock it. “
“Then I relaxed. Go to Armstrong, I think getting that first game was really important. I think I started very well, and that helped me much to relax. Especially serving the first game, that was a confident start, and then I felt that I could continue.”
With the new coach Francis Roig who encourages her vocally from the sidelines, Raducanu presents herself as a relaxed, targeted candidate who has fun.
“I love the crowd,” smiled Raducanu, who officially started her open with a round mixed doubles next to Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday. “I really enjoyed playing at Armstrong today. The crowd was great.
“I think New York is always different. You know, it is a bit challenging in terms of there is always so much going on, whether you are in the city, in the hotel or on the way to the courts. There is traffic, it takes an hour, but it is something we all go through.
“I personally love the buzz. I love how intimate the crowd is. It is very different from Wimbledon. But I think that is what makes every slam so unique and so special that there is a bit of a different feeling wherever you go.”
Raducanu especially loves the lighter balls, which, according to her hair, give shots an added zipper through the air and outside the field.
“I enjoy getting better,” Raducanu added. “The process of feeling from at the end of the day I am satisfied that I got a little better and just repeat it. I think that is probably the biggest success, and the reason why I feel the way I do now.
“I just want to stay in my zone and continue with what I do.”
Janice Tjen came on Sunday due to 3 rounds of our open qualification and upset nr
© Matthew Stockman/Getty images
Subsequently, Raducanu is confronted with a different qualification, Janice Tjen, who himself has written a history by becoming the first Indonesian in 22 years to continue to the main table, where she disrupted the no. 24 Seed, Veronika Kudermetova from Russia, 6-4 4-6 6-4, after 2 hours and 11 minutes.
Now she goes on to meet Raducanu, the US Open winner who came through the qualifying rounds before she won her title in Flushing Meadows in 2021.
“When Emma won the tournament and had an incredible run here, I was actually at the university and I was injured at the time, so I had to look a lot of tennis,” said 23-year-old Tjen. “Just seeing her makes me, like, inspired to be able to do it too.”
Tjen, who played in Pepperdine, where she was the NCAA-Doubles-Tweede in 2024, graduated in the spring with a degree in sociology.
“I think I am always during my university years, I consider if I should go for it, [or] Should I not do that, “Tjen said.” And I think I finally decided to try it out, and the coaches of Pepperdine told me that I think you should try it, at least two years, so I trust them, and here I am. ‘
Tjen came to the tournament this year with a 55-10 win/loss record and competed in a lower level in competitions.
She played the biggest game of her career on Sunday 11, recovered after blowing up a 3-1 lead in the second set, finishing the game with a neat backhand volley on Match Point and dropped on her knees near the net in disbelief.
Against Raducanu in round 2 she will probably be on a much larger stage.
“It will be – well, my first thought is just like, it will be a large crowd, I would say, a larger audience playing against her,” Tjen said. “She is a very famous player and I am just enthusiastic about the chance.”
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