Emma Raducanu offers free tickets to fan who gave her new nickname during Australian Open first round win

Emma Raducanu embraced her new nickname of ‘Raddo’ at the Australian Open.

Raducanu recovered from a poor start to beat Thai debutante Mananchaya Sawangkaew in their first round match.

Getty

The British number one, who was seeded at 28 at the Australian Open, had plenty of support in the night match at the Margaret Court Arena.

One Aussie led the shouts of ‘Raddo’ to the 23-year-old.

Raducanu acknowledged the fan in her post-match interview on court.

“Thank you to the support,” she said. “I think it was incredible on both sides.

“A particular shoutout to… Raddo is apparently my new nickname. You’re invited to every match. Just let my agent know and you’re here.”

Raducanu’s battle back

Raducanu faced the lowly-ranked Sawangkaew, who is the world number 196, but won a title on home soil in Thailand this year.

It threatened to be the worst Grand Slam result of her career as she found herself 1-3 down and facing break points.

The 2021 US Open winner battled back and took complete control to book her place in the second round.

She said: “I feel very happy to have gotten through that. From the beginning I felt like she was playing incredibly well.

“All of her returns and shots seemed to be dropping on the baseline or an inch from it. It made life very difficult.

AFP

“I’m really proud of how I fought back in the first set. 

“She’s playing some incredible tennis. Playing way higher than her ranking is currently. I’m sure she’s gonna do good things this year.”

Raducanu’s preparation

Raducanu once again had a rushed build-up for the tournament because of injury, only returning to the court in late December because of a foot problem that had lingered since the end of last season.

Her preparations for this contest, meanwhile, were hampered by a delayed flight from the tournament in Hobart, where she reached the quarter-finals earlier this week, and Australian Open organisers handing her a Sunday start.

Raducanu was left distinctly unimpressed, particularly by being scheduled second in the night session after a men’s match, but Alexander Bublik’s swift win over Jenson Brooksby meant she was not faced with playing into the small hours.

Raducanu will face Russian Anastasia Potapova next and potentially Aryna Sabalenka in the third round.