Australian Open: Emma Raducano beat Tamara Korbach in Melbourne

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Emma Raducano aims to go beyond the second round at a Grand Slam event for the first time since winning the 2021 US Open: January 16-29 Where: Melbourne Park Coverage: Commentary each day from 07:00 BST on Radio 5 Sports Extra ‘Tennis Breakfast live from Melbourne, with selected live text commentary and match reports on the BBC Sport website and app.

Emma Raducano returned to the court on a positive note after her injury scare, and moved into the second round of the Australian Open with a straight win.

On the opening day in Melbourne, the British top seed won 6-3, 6-2 over Germany’s Tamara Korbach.

Raducano, 20, sprained her ankle in Auckland 11 days ago and with a bright post-win smile showed her joy at making her Test debut.

The world number 77 now faces American seventh seed Coco Gauff in the second round.

Gauff, 18, is among the favorites to win the women’s singles tournament at Melbourne Park and started with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Czech rival Katerina Siniakova.

Third seeded American Jessica Pegula, Gauff’s doubles partner and favorite of many, cruised to her first singles title, with a 6-0 6-1 victory over Romanian Jacqueline Christian in just 59 minutes.

In the men’s singles, Britain’s Kyle Edmund was defeated 6-4 6-0 6-2 by 15th seeded Italian Yannick Sinner as he continues to rebuild his career after a serious knee injury.

Edmund, 28, reached the semi-finals in 2018 but saw his career derailed after he needed three operations and was playing using a protected rating.

A comfortable start for Raducanu but bigger tests lie ahead

When Raducanu left the Auckland stadium in tears, her chances of playing in her first major tournament of the season seemed in serious doubt.

The Brit has been plagued by physical issues since catapulting to superstardom by winning the 2021 US Open as a teen qualifier, and after hiring Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer, Jez Green, she worked hard in the pre-season on building her body to withstand the rigors of the WTA Tour.

So it was a bittersweet blow when she rolled her left ankle in what she described as a bizarre “accident”.

Raducanu’s movement has improved in practice at Melbourne Park as it continued last week, but the true indicator of its condition will only be evident in the match scenario.

With the ankle still strapped, Raducanu initially looked cautious as she stretched to the backside and had to put weight on the injured foot.

A poor quality start riddled with unforced errors saw the pair trade five intervals of serve before Raducanu began to grow in confidence.

Korbach, 27, is seeded higher than Raducanu but does not have the same pedigree and was making her Australian Open debut.

A double fault from the German – who is more comfortable on clay and looking nervous – caused Raducano’s match point when Korpac fired a long forehand.

Raducanu smiles delightfully as she spins onto the field in celebration, but she knows there’s a more difficult test ahead when she plays Gauff on Wednesday.

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