Emma Raducanu has been drawn to meet Tamara Korpatsch in the Australian Open first round. Raducanu, 20, and 27-year-old Korpatsch will be meeting for the second time when they meet at the Australian Open. Last year, Raducanu and Korpatsch played against each other on the clay courts of Stuttgart.
In their first meeting, Raducanu was the one that had more success as the Briton beat Korpatsch 6-0 2-6 6-1. Now, they are set to meet again but on a different surface. Should Raducanu beat Korpatsch again, she would then likely meet seventh-seeded Cori Gauff in the second round.
How is Raducanu feeling ahead of the Korpatsch match?
Raducanu kicked off her 2023 season in Auckland, where she sustained an unfortunate ankle injury. The injury occurred last Thursday but Raducanu decided to go to Melbourne and try to compete at the Australian Open.
Since Monday, Raducanu has been practicing lightly at Melbourne Park. Earlier this week, Raducanu said she was taking it day-by-day and not putting too much expectation on herself after the unfortunate injury she sustained in Auckland.
“It [the injury] was really unfortunate because I was feeling great about my season, I was feeling really good with the preparation I did physically. And I just had an accident on the court, I don’t know what I could’ve done to really prevent that.
I’m just taking it a day at a time and just trying every single day as best as possible to see and make progress. We’ll see hopefully by Monday or whenever the tournament starts, I’ll be OK and ready. We’re just taking it a day at a time and not trying to expect too much at this point,” Raducanu said on Monday.
If Raducanu is fit and feels well, she will definitely be the favorite against Korpatsch. It remains to be seen how far can Raducanu go in her second Australian Open appearance.
