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Emma Raducanu Not a good impression left Australia The schedule after the Open was forced to prepare for the tournament.
this British Arrive first Melbourne After reaching the quarter-finals of the Hobart International on Friday, she will face little-known Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew here on Sunday.
Not only was she scheduled for the opening day, but she was also scheduled for a conference slot the next night Margaret Court Arena The men’s game starts at 7pm local time, which means a late start is likely.
“It’s been very difficult,” Raducanu, who was scheduled to have her first practice at 9 p.m. Saturday, said. “You want more time in the environment, more time to practice, but I think I’ve got my schedule pretty much packed and trying to turn things around and make the most of what’s in front of me.”
“I think it’s easy to get frustrated and complain, but that’s not going to help. So I’m just trying to focus and turn things around for tomorrow.
“It’s very difficult to schedule a women’s match after maybe five sets. For me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
“I’m going to train today and see what it’s like. I don’t think I’ve ever been in that situation. It’s only been once before, maybe when I was playing in the U.S. Open semifinals.
“I played the second night, but other than that, I haven’t played that late. So, for me, it’s a new experience and something I need to learn.”
Things will be tough even if Raducanu enters the season in top form, but the 23-year-old has again struggled with fitness issues in pre-season, with a foot injury severely limiting her playing time.
She looked lacking game sharpness against Maria Sakkari at the Fed Cup last week, while she beat Camila Osorio in her first-round match in Hobart before losing to lower-ranked Australian Tyra Preston.
“It’s definitely better,” Raducanu said of the foot issue. “I’ve been dealing with it for the last few months, but I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made this year.”
“I came to Australia not knowing what to expect but now I’m in a better place and getting better every day.
“It’s easy for me to get frustrated about not having the preseason that I wanted to. I think it just frustrates me. After last year being my first year really on tour, I really realized how long the season is. I just wanted to try and work hard going into this year.
“Obviously I hope everything goes well this week, but I know I’m doing the right things and it will fall into place at some point.
“I started training very, very late in tennis. So, because of that, I felt like I needed to take the pressure off myself, not put too much pressure on myself and expect to play great tennis.”
On paper, Savonka, who has dropped to No. 195 and is making her Grand Slam debut, won’t pose much of a threat to her, but the 23-year-old has already won a lower-level title this season.
“I think it’s a tough question because playing a lot of tournaments, even at the ITF level, and getting a lot of wins, it goes a long way,” Raducanu said.
“I think it’s a very dangerous opponent in a very dangerous situation. You don’t know much about them, so there’s an element of surprise as well.”