Emma Raducanu is reviving memories of her fairy tale in New York after she stormed into the third round of the US Open.
Four years have passed since Raducanu stunned the sporting world by coming through qualifying and winning her first Grand Slam title, with her US Open win propelling her to instant global superstardom.
Raducanu’s story since then has been less than glorious, as she has struggled to live up to the lofty standards she set for herself with that breakthrough win, with injuries and dips in form affecting her progress.
Yet the more mature 22-year-old is now starting to shine all over again, with her opening two performances at this year’s US Open confirming the new version of Raducanu is threatening to create waves at the top of the women’s game once again.
She dispatched qualifier Ena Shibahara in 62 minutes in her first round match on Sunday and then went one better as she recorded the fastest win of her career to dispose of qualifier Janice Tjen 6-1, 6-2 in precisely 60 minutes.
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Raducanu set a record for her fastest win in a Grand Slam event when she beat Shibahara and now she has bettered that as she moved up to No 33 in the live WTA Rankings.
“We are all getting excited by the level of performance we are seeing from Emma,” former British No 1 Laura Robson told Sky Sports.
“It was just a really solid performance. Raducanu came out with such a purpose; from the first game of the match you saw the intent on the groundstrokes. She just had that much more in every shot today than Tjen.
“She has been playing really consistent tennis but this was even a step up from the first round.
“You see Raducanu release her power on her forehand side to the Tjen backhand. And she always wanted to move forward.
“Then she was returning serve inside the baseline and if you are the server in that situation, you are always under pressure.”
The most impressive aspect of Raducanu’s game was her serve, which has often been an area of concern since that US Open win.
Against Tjen, Raducanu landed 79 per-cent of her first serves, which is a remarkably high number given the power and accuracy she was delivering.
She threw in just eight unforced errors in a almost flawless display as she dominated her outclassed opponent from first to last.
Cynics will argue the euphoria around this victory for Raducanu is misplaced given the level of her opponent, but wins of this nature have not been part of the Raducanu story in recent years and that is why her fans have every right to start beating the drum of optimism as she eyes up a place in week two of a Grand Slam for the first time since that iconic US Open win in 2021.
“I’m very pleased with how I played today,” Raducanu said in her on-court interview. “In the last few weeks, I’ve really stepped up with what I’m doing on and off the court.
“I’m just looking forward to building day by day, doing my best – that’s all I can do – and I’m putting a lot of trust in the work I’m doing behind the scenes.”
The calm and assured nature of Raducanu’s two performances at the US Open suggests she fully believes in what she is delivering on court and that bodes well for what is to come for her in New York.
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