ESPN News Services
Jan 13, 2025, 10:47 PM ET
MELBOURNE, Australia -- No. 8 Emma Navarro needed to play the longest WTA-level match of her career -- 3 hours and 20 minutes -- and rallied from 5-3 down in the third set to beat fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
A semifinalist at the US Open last year, Navarro was seeded in the top eight at a major for the first time and was completing a set of appearances on the center courts at the Grand Slams with her first appearance on Rod Laver Arena.
So, how did she feel after being pushed all the way by the big-hitting Steans?
"Great," she said, telling the crowd the duration of the match felt like a time warp. "Crazy match today.
"I just kept telling myself to make the most of what I had today. Maybe it wasn't my best, but she put up a really good fight. Really happy to just get the win."
Their match was the first All-American women's major match to go past 5-all in all three sets since the 2005 French Open (Amy Frazier defeated Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round 7-5, 5-7, 7-5).
It's the longest women's match of the tournament thus far.
For Emma Raducanu, winning in the first round at the Australian Open was always going to be more important than how she achieved the result.
That was clear Tuesday when the 2021 US Open champion celebrated her 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) win over No. 26-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova out on Court 3, where a scattering of British flags fluttered in a light breeze on Day 3 at Melbourne Park.
In her first match since November, the 22-year-old British player had 15 double-faults, made 30 unforced errors and won just 30% of points on her second serve. But she was good enough in the big moments, with 22 winners and nine aces, to claw her way into the second round.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what I changed in my serve today. I think it had a mind of its own," Raducanu said. "In the first set I was hitting a lot of good first serves. I hit a few aces. At the same time I was hitting a double fault. I was quite of accepting that, OK, I'm at least going for it.
"As the balls got heavier, it was a lot more difficult. As more kept coming, it wasn't easy to refocus, but I knew even if I was down, I have great returns."
Because she wasn't playing competitively, the biggest news about her back home was her minor back trouble earlier this month and the fact she refused treatment for ant bites last week -- just to be on the safe side in terms of medication that might run her afoul of anti-doping regulations.
Alexandrova served for the first set, which contained eight service breaks, but Raducanu broke back immediately.
In the second set, Raducanu led 4-2 but then lost control of her serve again and needed to save a set point before forcing another tiebreaker, which she dominated.
Raducanu raced to a 6-0 lead in the breaker and, with too much of a lead to worry, held her nerve to clinch her first win of 2025.
Since becoming the first player to win a Grand Slam title after going through qualifying, Raducanu hasn't been past the fourth round of a major. She has reached the third round for the past three years in Australia.
She'll next play Amanda Anisimova, who had a 6-2, 6-3 win over Maria Carle.
"I know she's a big ball-striker," Raducanu said. "I practiced with her a couple times. She likes to dictate. So I think it's going to be a big challenge for me."
Ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina was the first through on Day 3, dropping the first game before winning the next seven straight en route to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Viktoriya Tomova.
ESPN Research, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
