‘She looks convinced’ – Emma Raducanu lauded by pundits for ‘clinical’ Australian Open display

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Emma Raducanu will not play at the Olympic Games
Emma Raducanu has decided not to play the Paris Olympics.

Emma Raducanu has been praised by former tennis stars after her impressive performance in defeating Shelby Rogers in straight sets in the opening round of the 2024 Australian Open. 

Tim Henman described Raducanu’s display as “clinical”, while Barbara Schett declared the Brit “looks convinced” and feels the most important thing is “she doesn’t doubt herself.”

Raducanu delivered a dominant performance as she saw off world No 161 Shelby Rogers – who has been ranked as high as 30th – 6-3, 6-2 at the Melbourne major on Tuesday.

The 2021 US Open champion broke the big-serving American three times and did not face a break point on her own delivery as she won a stellar 91% of points behind her first serve.

The 21-year-old is playing just the second tournament of her comeback, having returned from an eight-month absence in Auckland this month following surgeries on both her wrists and her ankle last year.

The Brit, a former world No 10, is playing her first Grand Slam since the 2023 Australian Open, where she reached the second round.

READ MORE: Emma Raducanu’s comeback hailed as a ‘miracle’ after she spent time on a mobility scooter

Speaking to Eurosport, former world No 7 Schett pointed out that Rogers was a player Raducanu beat during her 2021 US Open title run and was impressed with her conviction.

“She just wants to play on the big stages. This was a great start for Emma at the Australian Open, and maybe it’s a good omen that she’s beaten Shelby Rogers just like she did at the US Open [in 2021],” the Austrian said.

“But she looks fit, healthy, strong out there on the court, and she looks convinced, and that’s the most important thing. That she doesn’t doubt herself. I can’t wait to see more matches from her here.”

Henman, a former world No 4 and six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, believes the victory will mean a lot to Raducanu given the work she has put in to return.

“I’m sure that’s going to be such an emotional win for her. To go out there and put in such a clinical performance – 6-3 6-2 – in what looked like tricky conditions, pretty windy out there, I’m sure she’ll be absolutely delighted to be through to round two,” the Brit assessed.

Former world No 5 Jo Durie, who commentated on the match, also gave her evaluation of the current world No 296’s win.

“She’ll be so happy with that. She did everything she needed to do. She was solid as a rock. Very well played. [I liked] the amount of winners she was getting,” the former British No 1 said.

“She served well enough and was going after it. I thought Emma kept it nice and compact, tight, knew what she was doing, looked confident, and it was a good match.”

Raducanu will face world No 94 Wang Yafan in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

READ MORE: Emma Raducanu’s career earnings and how much she has made in sponsorship deals

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