Emma Raducanu has been handed a huge US Open boost, after No 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova was beaten in a major first-round shock at the season-ending Grand Slam.
Raducanu was due to face Kudermetova after she beat Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2 in a polished opening-round performance at Flushing Meadows, but there was a big shock as Janice Tjen beat her seeded rival 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
The British No 1 would have fancied her chances of beating Kudermetova after she got the better of the 28-year-old Russian on a clay court in Rome last May.
Janice Tjen On The Rise
Now she will be a strong favourite to get through against Tjen, who became the first Indonesian player since Angelique Widjaja at the 2004 US Open to play in a Grand Slam as she came through qualifying.
Now she has won her maiden main draw match in a major, with her joyous reaction to the victory highlighting what a significant moment this was for the 23-year-old, who is currently sitting at a career-high No 149 in the WTA Rankings, having started the year at No 411.
Tjen is a trailblazer in women’s tennis in Indonesia, with her exploits on the WTA Tour creating waves back in her homeland.
Her qualifying success at the US Open resulted in plenty of media coverage and that is now set to go to the next level when she takes on Raducanu on what is likely to be one of the show courts at Flushing Meadows.
Tjen has won an impressive 13 titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour over the last couple of years, making her one of the more prolific performers on the circuit that provides a stage for players ranked outside the top 50 of the WTA Tour.
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Making the step up to play an in-form Raducanu will be a major challenge for Tjen, with former British No 1 Tim Henman suggesting the performance of the 2021 US Open champion was flawless in her win against Shibahara.
“If you were going to write that script before you go out for the first round of a Grand Slam of how you want that match to go, that was ideal,” Henman told Sky Sports.
“There were a few tight games that Raducanu was able to come through.
“She stamped her authority so well at the beginning of the first and second set. She gave her opponent no time to settle in. Raducanu was a class apart.
“A Sunday start is not easy, so the nerves would have been there but Raducanu dealt with it extremely well.”
Raducanu will now have at least one day off and will play her second round match against Tjen on Wednesday.
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