Slowed down by a sore back, swirling wind and a supremely talented ball-striker who robbed her of rhythm, all Emma Raducanu could do was fight with all the energy, intelligence and conviction she could rouse as her presence at the Australian Open hung in the balance. Across two testing, uncomfortable hours, Raducanu scrapped, counterpunched and chased down every last ball, her significant efforts yielding a brilliant win as Raducanu out-hustled Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5 to reach round three at Melbourne Park.

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“I thought I played really well in some big moments in that match,” said Raducanu. “I thought it was going to be a really challenging one, playing Amanda. She’s obviously a good friend of mine, so it’s never easy. I feel like that adds another dimension to the match, but yeah, I’m happy I stuck with her in the second set and came through and found a way.”

By breaking new ground in Melbourne with her first run to the third round at the Australian Open, Raducanu has set up an opportunity to test herself against one of the best players of her generation. Raducanu next faces Iga Swiatek, the second seed and five-time grand slam champion, after the Pole dismantled Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia 6-0, 6-2.

In the day five meeting between two former teenage prodigies, Anisimova was once considered a far brighter young talent than Raducanu. Hype surrounded the American for so long that by the time she was 17, her run to the 2019 French Open semi-finals was no great surprise. She emerged on the tour already boasting some of the cleanest and most potent ground strokes in the world, blessed with immaculate hand-eye coordination and timing.

For the first four games on Kia Arena, Anisimova dominated with her heavyweight ball-striking as the 23-year-old eviscerated Raducanu’s second serve and pounced on all short balls. But the 22-year-old Briton slowly began to work herself into the match, particularly showing her resourcefulness with her defence, shot tolerance and ability to flip points from defence to attack. From 3-1 down, Raducanu reeled off five consecutive games to take the first set.

In the first game of the second set, though, the complexion of the match sharply changed, Raducanu serving three double faults. She lost her serve again before taking a medical timeout at 3-0 down. Anisimova, however, responded terribly after her opponent’s treatment and the American’s fast-rising error count allowed Raducanu to quickly retrieve both breaks.

“I haven’t fully investigated it yet,” Raducanu said of the problem that led to the timeout. “I just did my recovery and stuff. Haven’t seen the physios. I think it’s almost to be expected when you haven’t played a match in so long, and then to have two really physical ones … I think small niggles are going to come up here and there. I’m just hoping that it is that. I was able to push past some pain today, but yes, I’m going to just try and recover as best as possible over the next day.”

With her opponent also struggling, Raducanu found a second wind deep in the second set. As she completely locked down her game and gave nothing away, she also looked for opportunities to deflect the pace generated by Anisimova and force herself on to the front foot. Raducanu ended the match by again demonstrating her ability to produce her best tennis under pressure. At 6-5, 30-30 on Anisimova’s serve, the Briton threaded a forehand passing shot winner to set up match point before efficiently closing out the match. “I’m just glad,” said Raducanu. “I don’t know how I managed to fight back in the second set and take it.”

In a sport filled with bigger, stronger athletes and shotmakers capable of hitting her off the court on any given day, Raducanu takes pride in her court sense and ability to problem solve, using all facets of her well-rounded game to figure out solutions. This performance was an excellent example of that resourcefulness.

“Traditionally, I’ve probably been labelled as a player who is an aggressive baseliner, and that’s been my only dimension,” Raducanu said. “But I think having the ability and dexterity to kind of do other things on the court is really beneficial when you play these big hitters and big opponents.”

Two days after playing two excellent tie-breaks en-route to her win against Ekaterina Alexandrova, the Russian 26th seed, Raducanu again showed her tenacity and toughness while producing her best tennis in the decisive moments, qualities that so often separate excellent tennis players from the rest.