Gauff outshines Raducanu to win battle of the prodigies

[January 18, 2023] By Shrivathsa Sridhar

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Coco Gauff battled past Emma Raducanu 6-3 7-6(4) on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Australian Open, but not before the two prodigies offered fans a good glimpse of what the future of women's tennis could look like after an absorbing first clash.  

Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates winning her second round match against Britain's Emma Raducanu REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

A lot is expected of French Open runner-up Gauff, who at 18 is two years younger than Raducanu but has not tasted the Grand Slam success the Briton did as a teenager, and the seventh seed saved three breakpoints to win a first set she controlled.

Handed a prime-time slot on Rod Laver Arena following the retirements last year of champion Ash Barty and 23-times major winner Serena Williams, the torch-bearers of a new era pushed each other hard before Gauff edged ahead in the second set.

Having returned from an ankle injury suffered in a warm-up event in Auckland, Raducanu was troubled by an abs problem after being broken at 2-1 and Gauff pounced, before fending off a late fightback by the 2021 Flushing Meadows champion to prevail.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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