Gauff and Raducanu Deliver at the Australian Open, but Only One Advances

She certainly defended well off both wings Wednesday night, extending rallies and ultimately forcing Raducanu to go for too much.

“It’s difficult,” Raducanu said. “She is a great mover, great athlete — puts another ball in play, so you feel like you have to squeeze it closer to the line and then she kind of teases errors out of you that way.”

When Gauff served at 4-5 in the second set, Raducanu had command of both of the set points, dictating the patterns and terms of engagement only to miss when it came time to seal the deal.

Her backhand drop shot on the second set point would have clearly been a winner if it had crossed the net, but it hit the tape and fell back on Raducanu’s side of the court. In the tiebreaker, she lost three more key points when she was the one setting the tempo.

“I think 13 days ago if you would have told us, ‘Hey, you’re going to be in the draw and win a round, it would have been a massive effort for sure,’” Raducanu said. “Saying that, I still think I didn’t necessarily play my best today. Although in the second set I had chances and we were pushing it, I still felt like I could have done better. But props to her.”

Raducanu and Gauff had never even practiced together, but when it was over Wednesday, the handshake gave way to a friendly embrace at the net. They are based an ocean apart: Raducanu in Britain; Gauff in Florida. But they are both bright and personable with a growing list of sponsors and commitments.

“I think that we’re going to be playing each other many times in the future as we’re both young and coming,” Raducanu said. “We’re going to be the next generation.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/sports/tennis/gauff-raducanu-australian-open.html