Emma Raducanu overcame a serve problem to defeat No. 26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the second round of the Australian Open.

The 22-year-old joked that her serve had “a mind of its own” as she hit 15 double faults, but in a shaky match she won 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 ( 7-2).

Raducanu’s victory moved five British players through to the second round, equaling the record of British number one Katie Boult.

Raducanu entered the season feeling the effects of back spasms that prompted her to withdraw from her planned opener in Oakland, and she missed two months late last year with a foot injury, so this is a good one. Physical test.

The 22-year-old has been working hard to improve his serve with coach Nick Cavaday, but that’s certainly not the end result.

“I’m not sure what happened with the serve today,” said Raducanu, playing outdoors for the first time since Seoul in September. “I think it has a mind of its own. I’ll definitely reflect on that and look at that and get back to you.

“I think in the first set, I hit a lot of good first serves. I hit some aces. At the same time, I hit a double fault. I was very accepting of that: ‘Okay, I’ll at least go for it’.”

The long queue outside Court 3 when the game kicked off under cloudless skies in Melbourne was testament to Raducanu’s enduring popularity.

The former U.S. Open champion’s serve is still a work in progress, with five aces and four double faults in her first two service games.

From that point on, the balance tilted toward the negative, with her second-server winning rate heading into the tiebreak at less than 10%, while she had nine double faults, including one at 4-4. Appeared 3 times in .

Alexandrova, a power forward with an extremely negative personality, broke serve four times in a row, but maintaining her own serve was equally challenging and Raducanu was in fine form in the second set.

In the tie-break, Raducanu chased the score from 4-2 to 4-4, but due to her wayward return of serve, she only won the third set on her second serve at the critical moment. A forehand return hit the corner kick to seal the victory.

Raducanu appeared to have held his serve and another break gave the British second seed an immediate advantage in the second set.

She double-faulted three more times at 3-2, sought advice from coach Nick Cavaldi, and was broken at 4-3, but took the lead again and left her serve in the match.

At 30-0, she was two points short, but failed to create match point. Alexandrova double-faulted again and returned to serve.

Raducanu then had to save a set point to force the match into a tie-break, but she was nearly flawless from that point on, with the only blemish being a late double fault on her first match point.

“My goals for the year are not too high or too low, to stay pretty level. Even after today, winning a Tour event for the first time in a few months is great. I guess I just wanted to look at it and celebrate it for what it is. face and move on,” she said.

“It was nice to be able to rely on other parts of my game today that I know are pretty strong as well,” added Raducanu, who also hit nine aces.

“I’m proud that I didn’t let it affect me too much and take the game away from me.”

Raducanu will face teenage prodigy next Amanda AnisimovaAfter reaching the French Open semi-finals in 2019, she temporarily withdrew from the competition for the sake of her mental health.

“I know she’s a good hitter,” Raducanu said. “I’ve practiced with her a few times. She likes to give orders. So I think it’s going to be a big challenge for me.

“I’ve had the experience of having a problem at the beginning and then being able to come back and fix it in the next game. I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow and trying to fix it.”

Norrie unable to add to Briton’s success in Melbourne

Cameron Norrie failed to add victory to Team GB, losing in the first round to former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.

It’s a tough draw for the British number two, who reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park three years ago and has climbed back up the rankings after injury problems.

The Italian fired 32 aces and recovered from a set loss to win 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 6-1 6-3.

Norrie saved the set point 5-6 in the first set, made a wonderful comeback in the tie-break, and won 6 points in a row after falling behind 1-4.

But from that point on, the pressure on his serve showed, with Berrettini having five of his 13 break points in the final three sets, while Norrie failed to convert all five of his break points in the match. Opportunity converts any time.

Norrie, who reached the fourth round last year and will fall out of the top 60, regretted the timing, saying: “I wasn’t able to prepare well.

“I was really sick in Oakland (last week) before I got here. Just barely practicing. I have a good feel for the ball, to be honest. The preseason was great. The timing was a little unfortunate.

“I really gave myself the best chance. I hit the wall after just over an hour. I couldn’t stay sharp on the pitch. It was a bit disappointing. The most important thing is to get back to 100 percent fitness and get a break.” ”

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