Emma Raducanu delivered a dominant performance at the US Open, sweeping aside in-form qualifier Janice Tjen to secure her place in the third round. Raducanu, who famously lifted the Grand Slam title here four years ago as a qualifier herself – a feat that inspired her Indonesian opponent – demonstrated her prowess on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 23-year-old Tjen's hopes of making her mark were swiftly extinguished, as Raducanu crushed her 6-2, 6-1 in precisely an hour. This victory proved even quicker than Raducanu's first-round win against another qualifier, Ena Shibahara, which had previously been her fastest Grand Slam triumph.
For the second consecutive match, Raducanu began with an ace, setting the tone for a formidable display, particularly on her serve. She conceded only seven points on her own delivery in the opening set, hitting five aces – eight across the match – and relentlessly targeted Tjen's backhand.
A pleased Raducanu commented: "I’m very pleased with how I played. Super dangerous opponent, she was playing extremely well. I’m just looking forward to building day by day, doing my best."
The Indonesian has modelled her game on former world number one Ash Barty and her heavy topspin forehand was a key weapon in her standout round-one victory over 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Tjen has won a huge amount of matches on the lower tours since graduating from college in California last year but she will not have faced many players at Raducanu’s level.
This was another demonstration of just how well the British number one is playing – her strong serve backed up by precision groundstrokes, tactical acumen and excellent movement.
She will need all those to be on point if she faces former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina next, but Raducanu will rightly feel that she can be a significant obstacle for anyone in the draw.
The 22-year-old got better and better here, breaking serve twice in the first set and then racing through the second, with Tjen at a loss as to how to stem the flow of games against her.
She finally got on the board after seven in a row to avoid the love set but Raducanu confidently served out the contest.
