Despite a grueling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 loss to Wang Yafan in the second round of the Australian Open, Emma Raducanu was all smiles as she told press afterwards: "I'm feeling more confident than ever."
No wonder, given some of the shots she hit and rallies she won. The former US Open champion came out misfiring in windy conditions, but turned the second set in her favor by coming through a series of high-octane, physically demanding exchanges. Raducanu repeatedly went toe-to-toe with Wang for 15 shots or more, and was frequently the player who found an extra gear to win the point.
That was particularly evident in the crucial fourth game of the second set, when she had the imagination 16 strokes into an all-court exchange to come up with a drop shot winner out of nowhere. Two points later, she had broken Wang back to level at 2-2.
Raducanu rode that momentum all the way to the end of the set, with her forehand in particular doing significant damage. That was best illustrated as she broke Wang again for a 5-3 lead, coming out on top of a 24-shot exchange with a brilliant injection of pace on the run.
Though Raducanu was hindered by a stomach bug in the third set, she had no doubts about her game afterwards -- particularly given that this is the second tournament of her comeback from multiple wrist and ankle surgeries.
"I was actually feeling good about my tennis," she said. "Mentally, I just felt really composed the entire time. Even in the first set when I was making a ton of errors with the wind, I always had this feeling that I was coming back, just tidy up the errors.
"I'm more focused on level and the practice days, trying to win the day rather than focusing more on win or loss. I know the difference between me playing okay and me playing good or me playing great are just really, really in the details, like doing a few things just 5% better. I think it makes a huge difference. I'm feeling very positive."
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