It took just an hour for former US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain to dispatch Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen in the second round of this year’s tournament on Wednesday.
The British No 1 won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
On the first match of the day on Louis Armstrong stadium, the world No 36 was unstoppable in her swift demolition job, to progress to the third round of the slam that catapulted her to super-stardom back in 2021.
Relatively unknown
Tjen’s ranking is dangerously deceptive, as proven by her defeat of world No 25 Veronika Kudermetova in the first round of the US Open.
Whilst the relatively unknown Tjen had only turned professional last year, she is proving to be one to watch, preferring to play offence, and unafraid to come to the net.
In her US Open run, Tjen has made history for her country as the first Indonesian player to win a grand slam main draw match in 22 years.
This is no ‘regular’ qualifier!
But from the very first point of the match, Emma Raducanu dictated, with a foreboding ace that set the tone for the match.
She continued to serve impeccably, with 79% of her first serves in, and serving eight aces throughout the match and hitting 16 winners.
Through clean ball striking and taking the ball early, Raducanu stopped her opponent from coming forward.
‘Really good tennis’
After the match, the British star praised her opponent.
“I felt like my opponent was playing really good tennis. I thought that she was very dangerous and any ball that I put midcourt was going to be punished.
“So, I’m very pleased with how I kept dictating the points, I kept dictating the play, and didn’t let her too often get her front foot on the court.
“She’s obviously been playing very well, done a lot of winning, and took out Veronika in the first round”.
When asked about her impressive serving, Raducanu said, “I thought that I served very well, and yeah, I put quite a few aces on the board today.
“It always helps me when I’m serving well. It just kind of seeps into the rest of my game. I think that today I was able to have a good serving day, so I’m very pleased with that.”
The British star faces a tough opponent next.
Her Round 3 opponent is former Wimbledon champion and world No 10 Elena Rybakina.
Speaking of Rybakina, Emma Raducanu acknowledged the challenge.
“I think she’s a top opponent. She’s won Wimbledon. She’s been at the top of the game for so long and very dominant and has big weapons, has a huge serve and big groundstrokes.
“So, I do want to see how my game suits and fits against the top. I still think I have a long way to go, but I think I have been making steps towards getting closer and narrowing that gap.
“I think I have to take confidence from my matches against Aryna (Sabalenka) in Cincinnati and Wimbledon. But Elena is a different opponent. She beat Aryna in Cincy in straight sets. It’s going to be a tough match. But yeah, we’ll see on the result”.
Amisha Savani is reporting exclusively from the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York for The South African.
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