𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A quick hold, and Sabalenka squares the scoreboard after that shaky start.

Sabalenka wins her first point of the match at the 10th attempt, and then follows it with a powerful backhand winner that had some frustration in it. Raducanu misses with a backhand and Sabalenka takes the first of two break points to get quickly back on serve.

Break! This is superb from Raducanu, taking advantage of some early mistakes from Sabalenka to break to love.

The world No 1 has not yet won a point, dumping a forehand into the net to seal the break.

Raducanu makes the perfect start to the match, rapidly winning four points to hold to love. She looks lively and energetic from the off.

Raducanu’s new coach, Francis Roig, long-term coach of Rafael Nadal, has brought some blunt truths to the camp, she revealed this week.

“It’s just, ‘the level needs to be better’, in a good way, not in a negative way,” Raducanu said.

“It’s just calling it how it is. And I’m very like that. I’m very factual and I don’t necessarily like fluffing something up. I think that’s where we get on really well and we understand each other.

“Just in general, everything is like: ‘We need to improve. We need to get every shot better.’ And that’s exciting, because I feel like there’s a lot of potential to go and I don’t think I’m near it.”

Raducanu is decked out in full pink, Sabalenka in white and green. They meet at the net where Emma Raducanu wins the coin toss – tails never fails, obviously – and she elects to serve first.

They head to the back of the court to warm up.

Raducanu and Sabalenka walk out on to Center Court, which has emptied after that last match but which will surely fill up quickly for the meeting of these two US Open champions.

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro does indeed come through, 6-4, 6-1.

Raducanu and Sabalenka are next on Center Court, and they may not have long to wait now. Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro is beating American wildcard Taylor Townsend, leading 6-4, 5-1 and on the verge of reaching the fourth round.

Second seed Coco Gauff overcame early problems on serve to cruise past China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3 6-2, keeping her composure despite eight double faults in the first set to book a meeting with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the third round.

The 2023 champion converted on all five break point chances she got on Center Court and was firing on all cylinders as she won 20 of her last 23 points on serve.

“I had a shaky start with the serve but I was able to push through and figure that out,” Gauff told the Tennis Channel.

“Just taking my time and remembering the things we worked on in practice and just trying not to, I guess, fall into the same old patterns.”