Tennis · International
Raducanu overturns second-set deficit to reach Australian Open third round
The British former US Open champion recovered from 0-3 in the second set to beat Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5 and reach the last 32 in Melbourne for the first time.
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A first passage into the last 32
Emma Raducanu moved beyond the Australian Open second round for the first time on 16 January 2025, defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5 at Kia Arena. The victory took one hour and 50 minutes and brought the 22-year-old British player a third-round meeting with second seed Iga Swiatek. Raducanu had lost in the second round on each of her previous three visits to Melbourne, making this a concrete step forward at a tournament where she had repeatedly stalled.
Anisimova entered the match ranked No.35, ahead of Raducanu at No.61. The straight-sets outcome therefore concealed a demanding contest between two players with experience of major stages, rather than a routine win over an inexperienced opponent. Raducanu had already beaten seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in two tiebreaks in her opening match.
Returns decide a fluctuating contest
The players exchanged 13 breaks of serve, and Raducanu repeatedly had to rebuild her position. She lost her first two service games but made consistent inroads against Anisimova's delivery, taking all four break-point opportunities in the opening set. Anisimova held only once in five service games in that set, allowing Raducanu to establish the lead despite her own difficulties.
The second set brought another setback: Anisimova led 3-0, and Raducanu called for the trainer while dealing with discomfort. The British player recovered the double-break deficit and forced the contest back onto level terms. Anisimova's errors increased as the set progressed. At 6-5, Raducanu saved a break point before closing the match when an Anisimova backhand missed. Her advantage came from the points she could recover and the pressure she could sustain on return.
Two players rebuilding momentum
Both competitors had arrived with reasons to value an uninterrupted stretch of tennis. In the WTA's pre-match coverage, Anisimova described the confidence gained during a 2024 season in which she climbed from outside the top 350 into the top 40 and reached the Toronto WTA 1000 final. That recovery made her a substantial second-round obstacle.
Raducanu had begun working with trainer Yutaka Nakamura to strengthen her physical preparation for a fuller season. She had also needed to manage a back problem before Melbourne. Winning two physical matches did not settle that larger question, but it supplied competitive evidence that she could recover from poor service spells without abandoning the contest.
A sharper test awaited
The result also put Raducanu alongside Jack Draper and Jacob Fearnley in the third round. Australian Open reporting published on 17 January identified that as a fourth occasion since the tournament moved to Melbourne Park in 1988 that three British singles players, women and men combined, had reached that stage. The match itself was played on 16 January; the following day's retrospective is a separate publication date.
Swiatek, meanwhile, had conceded only one game to Rebecca Sramkova in her second-round win. Raducanu's next task was consequently much more demanding than merely extending the same pattern. Her win over Anisimova established the opportunity to take that test, while her returning and recovery under pressure supplied the clearest reasons for how she earned it.
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