MELBOURNE: Sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska proved she has become a genuine Australian Open threat under coach Martina Navratilova on Thursday when she thrashed Sweden's Johanna Larsson 6-0, 6-1.
The drubbing took Radwanska into the third round and placed the spotlight on the Pole, who has flown under the radar so far at this year's tournament.
The 25-year-old hired 18-time Grand Slam champion Navratilova last month to bolster her quest for a maiden major of her own.
"She's helped me a lot, on the court and off the court," Radwanska said of the Czech great, now based in the United States.
"We're working on a couple of things right now. So far so good."
Radwanska took just 44 minutes to brush aside Larsson, ranked 71 in the world, in the most one-sided match yet at this year's tournament.
"From the warm up I just felt great and I really saw the ball very well," she said.
"Even in the hot conditions today, everything was working for me, so I'm very happy about that."
The win builds on a 6-3, 6-0 win over Japan's Kurumi Nara in the first round, meaning Radwanska has dropped only four games in her opening two matches.
"I don't think I'd want to play against myself," she joked when quizzed about her hot run of form.
The Australian Open is Radwanska's strongest Grand Slam. She made the semi-finals at Melbourne Park last year and has reached the quarter-finals another four times.
She said quick results would help her conserve energy for the tournament's latter stages.
"I think being fresh is one of the most important things, so I'm happy to play short and good and really close out that match pretty quickly," she said.
"Especially (since) the conditions can be very tough, so I think it's much better than playing and being there for three hours."
Radwanska will meet either Varvara Lepchenck of the United States or Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.
"I just hope I can play the same good tennis I played today,"she said.
Comments
Comments are closed.