Australian Open 2026: Emma Raducanu & Cam Norrie reflect on first round wins in Melbourne
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British No.1 Emma Raducanu said she “found her feet” in Melbourne after an impressive performance against Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the first round of the Australian Open.
The former US Open champion began her campaign with a routine 6-4, 6-1 victory to reach the second round for a fifth straight year.
Raducanu came into the match with limited court time under her belt, having dealt with injuries at the end of the 2025 season into the Australian swing. However, the 23-year-old felt that she started to find her level again in her opening round win on Sunday.
“I'm really proud of myself because I came out here having not played any practice points,” Raducanu said in her post match press conference. “My match with (Maria) Sakkari (at the United Cup) was pretty much the first practice that I played, which is pretty unheard of.
“I think having gone through that and having only had two weeks out here of playing, I'm happy with the level and happy with the speed at how I've kind of found my feet on the match court.
“It gives me confidence that if I keep doing the right things, actually I'm able to put chunks of work in, good blocks of practice, I can improve a lot more.
“Today overall in all my shots, I felt like I had better control than I did in the last few weeks.”
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Raducanu will now have a couple of days break before she is due to face Austrian Anastasia Potapova in the second round.
The former world No.21 came back from a set down in her first round match against Suzanne Lamens earlier in the day.
It will be Raducanu’s first meeting with Potapova, with the winner potentially set to face former champion and world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.
“She's been very high ranked,” Raducanu said. “I remember watching Anastasia all through juniors, No.1 in Tennis Europe juniors, ITF. She was always the player to watch and beat through juniors. She's been very high ranked as well in the pros.
“She got a really tough match today so that must give her a lot of confidence. I know it's going to be a really tricky one. I need to just gather my strength and prepare as best as possible for the next match.
"I'm really excited to have two days off. Given the quick turnaround from Hobart, I think my body will appreciate it."
While Raducanu had a more straight-forward path to the second round, British No.2 Cam Norrie had to come back from 2-1 down to win a five-set epic against France’s Benjamin Bonzi.
Norrie eventually had to show every ounce of fighting spirit to come through 6-0, 6-7(2), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 43 minutes.
It marked Norrie’s ninth five-set win at a Grand Slam and is another sign of his growing confidence on the biggest stages. Last year, Norrie arguably played his best tennis at the slams, reaching the quarter-final at Wimbledon, fourth round at Roland Garros and third round at the US Open.
“I think that's massive,” Norrie said on the confidence he can take from his recent results at majors. “Actually Facu, my coach, said, ‘Man, if you look at your Grand Slam results recently, you've only lost to top players’. I think I can take a lot of confidence from that.
“I actually was going into the fifth set today really pumped to be there. I wanted to be there. I didn't really feel any pressure or anything, I'm so pumped to be in the fifth set.
“I felt really good physically. I played such a clean set. I was really happy with that. I think I can take confidence from those other recent deep runs in slams.”
Norrie was made to work for it by a tricky opponent who had won their only previous meeting in the final of Metz in 2024.
After winning the first set 6-0 in just 25 minutes, it looked like it was going to be one way traffic all the way, but Norrie admitted that his level dropped in the second and third sets before rallying back to win.
“I think the biggest thing was I was a bit tentative,” he said. “I was waiting for him to miss. I had a break point to serve for the second set. I was very passive in that moment, I could have run around and hit a forehand. I hit a really good return. I kind of waited for him and I ended up missing a forehand in the net.
“All credit to him to fight. Itas looking ugly, 6-0 down. He fought. He gave me nothing. Not really reacting too much. Then quickly I was two sets to one down, looking difficult.
“I was just able to get some clarity back and some focus and just enjoy my tennis. Really pleased with how I finished the match. It was a good level in the fifth.”
Next up for Norrie is American Emilio Nava – someone he has never played, but also had to come through a five-set match in the first round.
“I actually went to TCU with his cousin, Eduardo,” Norrie said. “I think they play very similar. He hits the ball so big. I saw he won in the fifth set before I went on.
“He's a really aggressive player. One of the best ball strikers on tour. Young, up-and-coming. His upside of his game is huge. Yeah, he's an exciting player to watch. I'm going to have to improve to have a chance to play him.”
Raducanu and Norrie were two of three Brits through to the second round on Sunday after qualifier Arthur Fery upset 20th seed Flavio Cobolli in straight sets – read the full match report.
