The British No. 1 reached Melbourne on Friday after concluding the quarter-finals of the Hobart International. She will begin her campaign here on Sunday against the relatively unknown Thai player Mananchaya Sawangkaew.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She has been scheduled for opening day and assigned the second night session at Margaret Court Arena, following a men\u2019s match starting at 7 pm local time, which could result in a very late start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult. You would love to have more time in the environment, more time practising, but I guess I was pretty much handed the schedule to try and turn it around and make the most out of what is in front of me,\u201d Raducanu, who was planning to have her first practice at 9 pm on Saturday, was quoted by Sky Sports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s easy to get down and complain about it, but it\u2019s not going to help. So I\u2019m just trying to focus and turn it around for tomorrow. It\u2019s very difficult to be scheduling women\u2019s matches after a potential five-set match. To me, it doesn\u2019t really make as much sense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cToday I\u2019m going to practise and see what it\u2019s like. I don\u2019t think I have been in that situation. Only once before maybe when I played the semis of the US Open. I played second night match but, other than that, I haven\u2019t played that late. So, for me, it\u2019s a new experience, something that I need to learn to do,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Raducanu, who is 23, would face a tough situation even if she began the season strongly. However, she has encountered physical issues again during pre-season, especially a foot injury that has greatly limited her time on the court.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She was not at her usual best in her United Cup encounter with Maria Sakkari last week. Although she beat Camila Osorio in the opening round in Hobart before getting a walkover against Magdalena Frech, Raducanu later suffered a defeat to the lower-ranked Australian, Taylah Preston.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking of her foot issue, the WTA No. 29 said, \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a lot better. I\u2019ve been having to manage it for the last few months but I\u2019m really happy with the progress that I\u2019ve made this year. I came out to Australia not knowing how it would go and now I\u2019m in a much better place and just improving day by day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI could easily get frustrated about not having the pre-season I wanted. I think it would only frustrate me. After last year being my first real year on tour, I really learned that the season is so long. I just want to try and work my way into this year. Obviously, I want this week to go well but I know that I\u2019m working on the right things and it will slot into place at some point,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI started training very late tennis-wise. So, because of that, I feel like I need to kind of take the pressure off myself and not put too much pressure on and expect to be playing amazing tennis,\u201d Raducanu stated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI could easily get frustrated about not having the pre-season I wanted. I think it would only frustrate me. After last year being my first real year on tour, I really learned that the season is so long. I just want to try and work my way into this year. Obviously, I want this week to go well but I know that I\u2019m working on the right things and it will slot into place at some point,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a tricky one because, playing a lot of matches, even if it\u2019s at ITF level, and getting a lot of wins, it does so much. I think it\u2019s a very dangerous opponent, a very dangerous situation to be in. You don\u2019t know that much about them, so there is that element of surprise, too,\u201d said Raducanu.<\/p>\r\n\r\n