Raducanu gets favourable Australian Open draw but Djokovic looms for Murray

Raducanu calms injury fears with two-hour practice at Melbourne Park; Plus, how far all the Britons can go Down Under

After a worrying couple of days in Melbourne – in which she pulled out of two successive exhibition matches – Emma Raducanu’s trip took a turn for the better on Thursday.
Having put in a solid two-hour practice session in the morning, she then landed a favourable draw against a woman who has not played on the tour for six months.
In an echo of the tournament that made her famous, Raducanu will open her Australian Open campaign against Shelby Rogers – the 31-year-old American whom she thrashed on her way to the 2021 US Open title.
That previous match was Raducanu’s first on Arthur Ashe Stadium – the largest venue in tennis – and she had a look of wonderment as she stared up at the vertiginous stands.
But if she felt any anxiety about performing on such a grand stage, she soon got over it as she reeled off 11 straight games, converting Rogers’s early lead into a 6-2, 6-1 defeat.
Today, as a global celebrity with 2.4m Instagram followers, Raducanu is used to being a main attraction. But her low ranking after her injury lay-off (she stands at No 299 in the world, and Rogers at No 156) means that she will probably have to settle for one of the smaller show courts.
As this is the first Australian Open to introduce a Sunday start, the first round of the tournament will stretch over three days, and it has not yet been decided when Raducanu will play. She might prefer to wait until Tuesday after the general soreness that she took away from her comeback tournament in Auckland last week, and which led her to withdraw from those two scheduled exhibition matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, fears that Raducanu might be carrying a specific injury were assuaged on Thursday when she practised for two hours at Melbourne Park alongside her latest locum coach Nick Cavaday, who had previously worked with her when she was a junior prospect at Bromley Tennis Centre.
In a draw that threw up mixed results for the British contingent, Andy Murray landed a meeting with 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. Were he to win that one, Murray could potentially go on to play two old foes whom he has known since junior days: Gael Monfils in the second round, and … gulp … Novak Djokovic in the third.
“Let’s hope I can get there,” said Murray, who made a second appearance at the Kooyong Classic exhibition on Thursday and scored a solid 6-4, 6-2 victory over former US Open champion Dominic Thiem. “I’ve not done my best in the grand slams the last few years, so my focus has to be on the first match. But I would love to play Novak again if possible.”
Rogers’s form will be hard to predict. She has not played since last year’s Wimbledon because of knee and abdominal trouble. So Raducanu – who also missed the bulk of last season with injury – could have a small advantage in the fact that she enjoyed a sighter in Auckland last week. Rogers stands 5ft 9in and relies on a direct, route-one game from the baseline. Raducanu would be well advised to use angles and changes of pace to keep her on the move, because Rogers gives the ball a real wallop when she is allowed to get her feet set. Were Raducanu to come through, she would probably meet 22nd seed Sorana Cirstea – the Romanian whom she ambushed in the third round of Wimbledon in 2021 – in a demanding next match.Prediction: Third round
Murray has not had much luck with his Australian Open draws of late. In four appearances since his hip trouble started, he has landed a first-round meeting with a seed on each occasion. Etcheverry might not be a big name – except in the most literal of senses – but he is a relentless grinder who gives very little away. These two met twice on the ATP Tour last season, scoring one victory apiece after a pair of three-set slugfests. Over the longer format employed at the slams, however, Murray would be wise to avoid another dogfight against such a physically powerful opponent. “It’s not easy,” said Murray on Thursday. “He had a great year last year and plays very well. It is a good test for me in the first match.”Prediction: Third round
This should be a comfy draw against a 28-year-old Peruvian who has only ever won a single grand-slam victory on hard courts. However, there must be some concern over Norrie’s fitness level after he made a late decision to withdraw from the ATP event in Auckland on Thursday. The reason offered was a problem in his right wrist. Even if Norrie’s agent insisted that the withdrawal was “precautionary”, Norrie himself has a sentimental fondness for the city where he grew up, and would not have taken this decision lightly.Prediction: Fourth round
Boulter comes into the Australian Open with a place in the world’s top 50 in her sights. Making a fast start to the new season, she scored a career-best win over world No 5 Jessica Pegula in the United Cup in Perth, but then dropped some of that momentum by losing to unheralded Anna Bogdan in Adelaide. Still, this is a decent draw. Both these women are unusually tall – Boulter 5ft 11in and Yuan 5ft 10in – and they will play first-strike tennis, because they are not the greatest defenders. Were Boulter to win, she would probably meet another Chinese opponent – the dangerous Qinwen Zheng – in her next match.Prediction: Second round
Evans will not be able to match Sonego – a tall and loose-limbed Italian – when it comes to power. But then, as a fleet-footed scurrier with a silky touch, he is used to defusing more physically imposing players. Sonego can be destructive when his game is flowing, but he is also prone to flakiness, and has generally underperformed at the majors. Were Evans to come through, he would probably earn a repeat of his fan-pleasing US Open clash with reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.Prediction: Second round
Korpatsch was Raducanu’s opponent here last year, and went down without much protest, even though Raducanu was hampered by the aftermath of a sprained ankle. She is normally at her best on clay courts, while Burrage prefers the faster surfaces. On that basis, we might tip Burrage to start her first Australian Open with a win. If we are right, though, Burrage faces a likely meeting with ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova in the second round.Prediction: Second round
These two might be closely matched on the ranking ladder but Draper is clearly undervalued at No 62, having missed the entirety of last year’s grass-court season with a nasty shoulder-tendon injury. His talent was underlined by the fact that he went undefeated through the UTS Finals in London’s Docklands last month, overcoming such significant opponents as world No 8 Holger Rune and three-time major finalist Casper Ruud. Yes, we are talking about an exhibition, and a quirky one at that. But I have yet to meet a professional athlete who enjoys losing.Prediction: Second round