Emma Raducanu has singled out a fan for their support following her first round Australian Open victory against Mananchaya Sawangkaew. The Brit came out as straight sets winner, with the score 6-4, 6-1.

Her match was the last of the day on court, which brings its own challenges in terms of preparation and the match itself. Raducanu was also spurred on by shouts of 'Rado' from the Australian crowd, something which she spoke about in her interview after the match.

"I think the preparation side of yesterday I booked the court from 9.15pm to 11.15pm, it was the latest I have ever practised," she said. "Just to get used to it, it is completely different to the day, it's a lot slower, colder, the ball doesn't travel as much through the air and it's not as high bouncing but I got used to it a bit yesterday and really happy that I did that.

"I came out today, it's a difficult one because you need to switch on but at the right time and not too early so you're not expending too much energy and yeah had a potter around Melbourne this morning by the river and then had a nap.

"But came out and the atmosphere was electric and I want to thank everyone for staying out so late. Thank you for the support, I think it was great on both sides and a particular shout out to 'Rado' apparently is my new nickname, so you're invited to every match, just let me know or let my agent know and you'll hear."

She also praise her opponent, with Raducanu having to come back from a break down in the first set to claim victory. "I feel very happy," she said. "She was playing incredibly well and her shots were landing on the baseline, and she was playing much higher than her ranking."

Raducanu will face Anastasia Potapova in the second round as she looks to progress further in the first Grand Slam of the year. If she keeps her promise, the fan she singles out will again be in attendance.

Should she be successful in the second round, then Raducanu faces the prospect of facing world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the thrid round of the tournament. The Belarusian overcame Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah 6-4, 6-1 in the first round and faces Zhuoxuan Bai in the second round.

Raducanu played Sabalenka at Wimbledon last year, where she held her own. The World number one, however, eventually went onto win 7-6, 6-4.

A win over Sawangkaew and a positive run in the tournament will help Raducanu quickly move on from her shock defeat against Taylah Preston in the Hobart International last week. She fell to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat to the World number 217 just days before the start of the Australian Open.