Australian Open: Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper's hopes in Melbourne assessed by Gigi Salmon
Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter target deep runs at the Australian Open in Melbourne; watch action from the ATP and WTA Tours on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+ which is integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app
Thursday 9 January 2025 16:51, UK
British hopes rest with Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter as they target a successful 2025, starting at the Australian Open in Melbourne. We asked Gigi Salmon for her verdict on the draw...
There have been positive signs for Raducanu, who has struggled with physical issues since winning the US Open in 2021 and was forced to withdraw from the ASB Classic in Auckland last week due to back problems.
She returned to the court at Melbourne Park, demonstrating positive signs of recovery.
Meanwhile, fellow Brit Draper pulled out of the United Cup team competition for Great Britain with a hip injury but the 22-year-old has made it into the main draw. He will be desperate to replicate the form which saw him reach the semi-finals of the US Open.
Then there's Leicester-born star Boulter, who recently announced her engagement to Australia's world No 8 Alex de Minaur and will be eyeing a career-best run at a Grand Slam.
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Raducanu revival?
Could 2025 be the year that Raducanu becomes a real factor at the top of the game?
A year on from her return following triple surgery, Raducanu is close to climbing back into the top 50 and showed on multiple occasions last year that she certainly belongs there.
She has made the second round in each of the last three seasons and will be hoping to push on further in 2025.
The Brit finished her season going unbeaten in Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup and she will be hoping to be ready for the Grand Slam in Melbourne after hiring renowned fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura to work alongside Nick Cavaday and help end her litany of fitness issues since winning the US Open in 2021.
The experienced trainer has worked with numerous top players, including Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka.
"I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go athletically," said Raducanu, who had previously cited a desire to keep her team small as a reason for not hiring a full-time fitness trainer and relying on Lawn Tennis Association staff.
"It's a big strength of mine that I have nowhere near fulfilled. I think I can become one of the best athletes out there in tennis and I'm just looking forward to seeing how much I can do."
The 22-year-old will be short of matches going into the Australian Open, a situation she must hope will not continue to be a recurring theme.
Gigi Salmon's verdict
"Raducanu faces world No 27 Ekaterina Alexandrova, a player she was due to face in the first round of Wimbledon last year until Alexandrova withdrew on the eve of the tournament.
"Raducanu has put in a good block of training in Melbourne and will need to be at her best against an experienced and tricky opponent."
Blossoming Boulter
Boulter is hungry to keep improving at the age of 28, honing a more all-round game to complement her first-strike instincts.
She is seeded in Melbourne after her best season to date - winning two WTA titles (San Diego and Nottingham) and making another final in Hong Kong.
The British No 1 has been in blossoming form and has embedded herself inside the top 30 (currently world No 23).
She has yet to make it past the third round at a Slam but continues to improve and possesses the weapons to make her a threat to the world's best.
Boulter got her season off to a positive start in Australia at the United Cup by coming close to securing the biggest win of her career against Iga Swiatek and will be hoping to produce the same kind of form at the Australian Open.
Gigi Salmon's verdict
"Boulter has been drawn against the Canadian veteran Rebecca Marino. Boulter leads their head to head 2-0 and as a seeded player will avoid other seeds in the draw until at least the third round."
Britain's other hopes in the women's draw...
Sonay Kartal is in the main draw for the first time having won her first WTA title in Monastir towards the end of the 2024 season.
Raducanu's former childhood rival will make her debut in the main draw after a brilliant 2024 that saw her soar into the top 100.
The 23-year-old from Brighton also made the third round of Wimbledon after coming through qualifying.
Gigi Salmon's verdict
"Kartal will be playing in her first Grand Slam outside of Wimbledon and her reward is a meeting with Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. Should she beat the world No 52, she would face either defending champion and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka or former US Open champion Sloane Stephens."
Meanwhile, Jodie Burrage is in the main draw on a protected ranking after an injury-hit 2024, with wrist and ankle issues keeping her out between February and September. But Burrage is in impressive form having recently won her biggest title at the W100 Dubai.
Gigi Salmon's verdict
"Burrage will face French qualifier and world No 149 Leolia Jeanjean and should she win, it will be either Coco Gauff or Sofia Kenin in the second round."
Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, Francesca Jones and Lily Miyazaki all failed to make it through the women's singles qualifying draw.
Can Draper match US Open heroics?
British No 1 Jack Draper will lead the line-up in the men's singles after he cracked the top 20 on the back of a first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open but his dark horse status in Melbourne has been hit by a hip problem that affected him during pre-season and delayed his trip Down Under.
The 23-year-old comes into 2025 having pulled out of a pre-season training camp with Carlos Alcaraz and then skipping the United Cup team event in Sydney because of a hip injury.
Gigi Salmon's verdict
"Draper faces Argentina's Mariano Navone. He hasn't played competitively since the Paris Masters at the end of October and if Draper is to match or better his semi-final showing at last year's US Open he would more than likely have to face Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round."
Cameron Norrie continues his bounce back from a forearm injury sustained just after Wimbledon last year which caused him to drop out of the top 50.
He will aim to rediscover the form he showed in reaching the fourth round in Melbourne last year, when he impressed with new-found variety in his game.
Gigi Salmon's verdict
"Norrie has been handed one of the most difficult first-round ties against former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, who reached the semi-finals in Australia in 2022 and most recently helped Italy defend their Davis Cup title.
"They have met once before on grass in 2021, with the Italian taking the win at Queens."
Fearnley takes 'top billing' in Melbourne
Rising star Jacob Fearnley is the final player with direct entry, having broken into the top 100 for the first time last year.
Fearnley, 23, only left college in the USA a couple of weeks before winning the first of four titles on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Nottingham in June.
Fearnley's success earned him a place in Great Britain's Davis Cup squad for a first-round qualifier with Japan later this month.
He also took a set off Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and has risen from No 646 in the rankings a year ago to No 86.
Gigi Salmon's verdict
"Top billing goes to British No 3 Fearnley, whose meteoric rise into the top 100 last year saw him qualify for his first main draw at a major in Australia, where he finds himself facing Nick Kyrgios in the first round.
"Kyrgios, who was handed a wildcard into the main draw, hasn't played a Grand Slam since the US Open 2022 due to injury and after making his return in Brisbane at the start of the season is currently nursing an abdominal injury which in his words 'is not too serious'.
"Fearnley made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon last year against Djokovic but facing Kyrgios in Australia will be a whole new experience - if the Australian is fit to play!"
Four British men failed to make it through qualifying - former top-25 star Dan Evans, Billy Harris, Jan Choinski and Paul Jubb.
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