Emma Raducanu won her second round match at the US Open in impressive fashion in straight sets, defeating Janice Tjen 6-2 6-1 in New York.

Despite admitting to feeling the “pressure” afterwards, Raducanu was in dominant form in New York as she moved into the third round with ease.

Playing on Louis Armstrong, Raducanu started strongly, breaking her opponent’s serve immediately. She wrapped up the first set in just 30 minutes, with two breaks of serve to her name.

“I’m very pleased with how I played today in the second round. After two days it kind of breaks the rhythm a little bit,” Raducanu said on court after one of her quickest-ever Grand Slam match wins. 

“I think Janice is playing some dangerous tennis, beat one of the top seeds in the first round and I’m sure she can build and take some confidence from this week, and it was great to play her and I look forward to next time.”

Some huge hitting from the British player made all the difference in the opening set, Raducanu connecting with the ball as cleanly as she did when she famously won the title here in 2021. 

And after sealing the set with a huge forehand winner, Raducanu looked very much back to her best. 

Under sunny skies, Raducanu showed no signs of nerves or a loss of concentration as she held her opening service game in the second set, her first serve percentage hovering around 80%. 

Raducanu had dropped just three games in her opening round win in New York against Ena Shibahara, and she looked in a similarly dominant mood when she raced to a 6-2 5-0 lead in just 52 minutes. 

Qualifier Tjen had no answer to Raducanu’s accurate serving and huge ground strokes. 

And her level just did not drop, the Brit closing out the match 6-2 6-1 in exactly an hour to advance to the third round for the first time since her stunning title win four years ago.

It is the third time this season Raducanu has made the third round of a Slam – but she has yet to go further.  

Much has been made of Raducanu’s coaching changes on the eve of the Cincinnati Open, with the Brit bringing in Francisco Roig to join her team. But she was quick to pay credit to everyone in her corner – as she believes the work she has done off the court has paved the way for her current run of form.

“First of all, the consistency of doing good practice [has helped]. After Miami I did some good work and also I feel in the last few weeks I have really stepped up what I’m doing on and off the court, and I’m really happy I have those people in my corner over there,” said Raducanu.

“I’m really grateful for them and I’m building day-by-day and doing my best; that’s all I can do. I’m putting a lot of trust in the work I’m doing behind the scenes. It takes a little bit of pressure off. 

“But at the same time, when you play a match in a big stadium, you feel a bit of pressure but I like to try and use it as much as I can.”

Raducanu’s task might get more difficult moving forward though, as she will face either former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina or Tereza Valentova in the next round. 

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