Emma Raducanu might be a Grand Slam champion but she still finds herself entering relatively unknown territory from time to time.
The challenge she faced with her Australian Open first-round match against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew was a rare late start.
But it ended up being a relatively early finish – at least by Melbourne Park standards – as the British number one grew in confidence to wrap up a 6-4 6-1 victory before 11pm local time.
Raducanu had only previously played one other night match at a major. That was the 2021 US Open semi-final, on her way to the title which she will forever be remembered for.
So the 23-year-old had to think carefully about how to tailor her routine and started her day with a “potter around” Melbourne’s bustling riverside area.
“I had a very chill breakfast, walked around for 45 minutes, walked back, had treatment, a chat with the team, then took a nap and came in,” she explained.
“I came in [to Melbourne Park] at 5:30pm, started with my routines and practised at 6pm.
“I’m a night owl, but not to play.”
Raducanu arrived on court shortly after 9pm, growing in confidence after a sluggish start where errors flew off her racquet.
Waiting around all day is not unusual for most players.
Raducanu’s compatriot Cameron Norrie described having a “very tricky day” himself, arriving on site at 10am thinking he would play about 2:30pm.
The two matches before Norrie’s first-round match ended up going long, meaning he did not start until 6pm and eventually came through a five-set battle with France’s Benjamin Bonzi shortly before Raducanu won.
“I’ve been trying to train myself to be better in the night,” said Raducanu.
“That’s half the battle for me, to be honest – how to arrange the day, when to switch on and when to switch off.
“I’ve gone through a few trials of what works and what doesn’t work.
“I actually felt really good before the match. It helped that the match before didn’t take very long so I wasn’t on too late.”
