Emma Raducanu resumes her Australian Open campaign on Thursday morning when she faces Danka Kovinic of Montenegro.
After a three-set battle in the first round, the 19-year-old will be hoping for a much more straightforward match on Margaret Court Arena and set up a third-round clash with her idol Simona Halep, if she beats Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Elsewhere, Andy Murray is also back in action against Japan’s Taro Daniel. “He’s a solid player, moves very well,” said Murray. “No big weaknesses in his game. It will be a good test for me to see how I can back up the performance.”
Raducanu and Murray are two of four British players through to the second round along with Dan Evans and Heather Watson.
Watson struggled in 2021 but has started this season with a new zest for the sport and was impressive in beating Mayar Sherif in round one. Now she gets another shot at 29th seed and last year’s French Open semi-finalist Tamara Zidansek, who she lost a very close match to in Adelaide last week.
Evans, who continued his excellent start to the year by easing past David Goffin in round one, takes on another in-form player in France’s Arthur Rinderknech.
Day four order of play
Rod Laver Arena – play begins 12am
Alize Cornet (Fra) v (3) Garbine Muguruza (Spa)
Xiyu Wang (Chn) v (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr)
Kamil Majchrzak (Pol) v (32) Alex De Minaur (Aus)
Not before 8am GMT:
Nick Kyrgios (Aus) v (2) Daniil Medvedev (Rus)
(14) Simona Halep (Rom) v Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra)
Margaret Court Arena – play begins 12am
(6) Anett Kontaveit (Est) v Clara Tauson (Den)
Hailey Baptiste (USA) v Maddison Inglis (Aus)
Sebastian Baez (Arg) v (4) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre)
Not before 8am GMT:
Danka Kovinic (Mne) v (17) Emma Raducanu (Gbr)
Steve Johnson (USA) v (11) Jannik Sinner (Ita)
John Cain Arena – play begins 12am
(7) Iga Swiatek (Pol) v Rebecca Peterson (Swe)
Not before 2am GMT:
Frances Tiafoe (USA) v (20) Taylor Harry Fritz (USA)
Shuai Zhang (Chn) v (12) Elena Rybakina (Kaz)
Not before 6am GMT:
Andy Murray (Gbr) v Taro Daniel (Jpn)
Who is Emma Raducanu’s opponent – Danka Kovinic?
Raducanu faces Danka Kovinic of Montenegro on Thursday. A former top 50 player, 27-year-old Kovinic is now ranked just inside the top 100. She beat Korean qualifier Jang Su-jeong in a belting first-round match on Tuesday, taking three hours and nine minutes to do so, eventually winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. A powerful baseline hitter who favours clay, Kovinic racked up 38 winners in the first round but also 57 unforced errors, and is prone to overhitting.
Kovinic is something of a trailblazer in her home of Montenegro. She has been playing on the WTA Tour since 2013, and became the first player from her country to qualify for the French Open the following year. She is also the first player from Montenegro to reach a tour-level final of any kind.
She scored some of the best results of her career on clay last April, reaching the final of the Charleston Open after wins over top 30 players Ons Jabeur and Petra Kvitova, as well as getting past US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. It proved she is more than capable of a scalp against quality opposition, but reaching the second round in Melbourne equals her best ever result at a major, and last year she completed two weeks of hard quarantine only to be beaten 6-0, 6-0 to Ash Barty in 44 minutes.
Though that result will be a distant memory, it may be a marker of how Kovinic could cope on a show court against a high-profile opponent like Raducanu. Kovinic also lost last week in straight sets to British No 2 Heather Watson in Adelaide qualifying and, as the 17th seed, Raducanu is the overriding favourite to progress to the third round on Thursday.
Who is Andy Murray’s opponent – Taro Daniel?
After coming through a tough five-setter on Tuesday, on paper, Andy Murray has a relatively sweet second-round draw, against Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel, who is ranked seven spots below him at 120th.
Daniel’s 7-6(1), 6-1, 6-1 victory over qualifier Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera was only his first at a major in three years. But it remains to be seen how former world no. 3 Murray’s body will hold up after his five-set thriller.
The pair have faced each other once before, in a Davis Cup tie in 2016, when Murray was at his career peak and won comfortably in straight sets.
Latest news
Alexander Zverev believes there are probably more players at the Australian Open who have tested positive for Covid-19 but they are not being tested, the third seed said on Wednesday.
Frenchman Ugo Humbert said earlier on Wednesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, a day after his first round defeat by compatriot Richard Gasquet, forcing him to isolate for a week in Australia.
Players must be fully vaccinated to compete at the Australian Open, a rule that forced the government to deport world number one Novak Djokovic due to his unvaccinated status.
“We are allowed to go outside to eat, allowed to do whatever we want, so I think it’s natural that more people get Covid,” Zverev told reporters after dispatching Australia’s John Millman in straight sets in the second round.
“I think quite a few players had it when they arrived. Quite a few players I think have it now. We’re not getting tested, so I think if we would get tested there would be probably more positives than there are now, in a way.”
When is the Australian Open?
The tournament got underway on January 17 and concludes with the men’s final on January 30.
Where is the Australian Open?
The Australian Open is taking place at Melbourne Park in Victoria.
