Facing off against a friend down the other end of the net is never easy.
But Britain’s Emma Raducanu was able to wrest victory from her second-round rival and close friend Amanda Anisimova, ranked 35, in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
The victory puts Raducanu, ranked 61, into the third round at the Australian Open for the first time.
Raducanu was all smiles as she dropped her racquet and lifted her hands to her head, soaking up the thunderous applause from a supportive Aussie crowd.
The 22-year-old Raducanu shot to fame when she won the 2021 US Open as an unknown 18-year-old.
But since that breakout win she’s been plagued by wrist injuries that have forced her to take long spells out of the sport.
She’s been the focus of intense media attention but has also copped more than her fair share of online hate after she dropped out of the Wimbledon mixed doubles last year with Andy Murray, truncating the Scot’s last-ever Wimbledon appearance.
But Raducanu said there’s no bad blood between her and Murray, who congratulated her after her win today at Melbourne Park.
Murray is at the Australian Open coaching Novak Djokovic, who is chasing an historic 11th Australian Open and 25th grand slam title.
“I saw Andy today, and he said, ‘Well done,’ and congratulated me,” Raducanu said.
“That was really nice. He’s someone that I look up to a lot. So it’s good to have the pat on the back from him.”
Andy Murray is coaching his old rival Novak Djokovic. (Getty Images: Clive Brunskill)
Both Raducanu and Anisimova had to contend with tricky serving conditions with the wind on Kia Arena.
Raducanu said she was proud of how she was able to regroup, and also seemed to see the lighter side to the bluster.
“I think sometimes it’s better to … laugh it off rather than get stressed out about it,” she said.
That seems to echo the attitude she’s taking into 2025, both on and off the court.
“This year I’m just approaching it quite holistically, I would say, in the sense of just having good people around me, having a positive outlook,” she said.
“Anything that’s not necessarily serving me, I’m just pretty savage in terms of just prioritising myself and focusing.
“Anything that wants to try and affect that, I don’t have time for it. No hate. I just don’t want to kind of let that in.”
Exchanging friendly fire
The 22-year-old Raducanu survived a tough test in the American Anisimova.
Emma Raducanu said playing a friend like Amanda Anisimova can be unpleasant. (AAP: Lukas Coch)
From the first point, a thrilling exchange of groundstrokes, it was clear it would be a match of high quality.
There was intensity and momentum swings, and Raducanu also had to take medical time outs for physio treatment in the second set.
The pair traded fierce backhands, with Raducanu scrambling and sending back lofty defensive shots, extending points and keeping the pressure on Anisimova.
“Whenever you play a friend, it adds another dimension to the match, and not necessarily a pleasant one,” Raducanu said.
“I know who my friends are … pretty much all of them are away from the tour, and I think I quite like keeping it that way.”
She survived the Anisimova challenge, but she faces an even more daunting next assignment: world number two Iga Świątek.
Świątek breezed through her match on Rod Laver Arena, besting Rebecca Šramková 6-0, 6-2.
Iga Swiatek cruised through her second round match. (Getty Images: Robert Prange)
Świątek, who has won five grand slams, four of then on clay at the French Open, said she’ll be ready fro Raducanu.
“For sure it’s going to be a tough one. Emma can play great tennis, we all know that,” she said.
Like Raducanu, Świątek was a teen — 19 years old — when she won her first grand slam title.
But their paths have widely converged, with injury-ridden Raducanu’s patchy playing schedule a stark contrast to Świątek’s consistency and dominance, spending 125 weeks at world number one.
When asked if she felt envious of Świątek’s career trajectory, Raducanu seemed unfazed.
“Everyone kind of does things at their own pace,” she said. Everybody’s story is different,” she said.
Raducanu can go into the next match with no expectations.
“It’ll be a very good match for me. Every match I can play against a top opponent, I’m loving it. It’s another opportunity to test my game, to see where I’m at,” she said.
“Going into it I have nothing to lose, I’m just going to swing.”
