Lily Miyazaki won her first main draw Grand Slam singles match on opening Monday at the US Open with a superb straight-sets victory against Margarita Betova.
On Saturday, Miyazaki emulated Emma Raducanu from two years ago in coming through the qualifiers, and the 27-year-old emerged victorious against Russian Betova 6-3 6-3.
The world No 199, whose only previous major appearance came when she lost in the Wimbledon first round in 2022 as a wild card, may be unlikely to emulate Raducanu’s fairy-tale title win, but she still secured a near £100,000 pay day and a high-profile second-round match against Olympic champion Belinda Bencic on Wednesday.
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Miyazaki: I’m proud of myself
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Miyazaki says she is ‘proud’ of herself after beating Margarita Betova to reach the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time
“I’m kind of lost for words right now. Coming into this tournament I didn’t expect to be at this stage, so I’m just really happy and proud of myself,” the 27-year-old Japanese-born Brit told Sky Sports.
“Qualifying definitely helped me because I got matches under my belt and I felt really comfortable with the conditions.
“Today I felt a bit nervous and didn’t feel like I was playing great but I think my experience from qualifying helped me.”
“The experience at Wimbledon was huge for me. In that match, the night before I was really, really nervous and I could hardly sleep. But last night I told myself this was just another match.”
How Miyazaki made it through to the second round
Miyazaki took on the experienced Betova, who was playing under a protected ranking after coming back from having a child but had lost her last 15 matches.
Miyazaki, who moved to London aged 10 but only changed allegiance from Japan last year, overcame an early break and won six games in a row to take control.
With fellow Brit Jodie Burrage cheering her on, Miyazaki finished the job on her second match point to win in an hour and 20 minutes.
The win helps her rise to a career high of 153rd provisionally, and up to British No 4.
Being free and being relaxed is sometimes a lot easier said than done. There will still be nerves, there will still be her own expectations, her own dreams and desires. It’s not always easy to just be free. She will be the underdog in that situation but hopefully she can capitalise on that, but Belinda Bencic will be a different test although I’ll be excited to watch.
Tale of the Tape
Match analysis
Tim Henman and Martina Navratilova break down the performance of Miyazaki’s stunning first-round victory in the Sky Sports studio.
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Henman and Navratilova analyse the performance of Miyazaki in her dominant victory over Betova
Who’s up next for Miyazaki?
Bencic is the reigning Olympic champion having won gold in Tokyo
Miyazaki will take on Olympic champion Bencic in the second round on Wednesday and the 15th seeded Swiss has been warned she’ll have to do her homework on the Brit.
“It’s going to be a tough match for sure,” said Miyazaki. “But I guess the good thing is I’ve seen her play plenty of times and she probably doesn’t know much about me.”
The US Open on Sky Sports: How and where to watch
The US Open is back Sky Sports with the promise to give fans live coverage of the Grand Slam like never before.
Sky welcomes tennis back to its channels this year with the US Open being one of the most prestigious Grand Slam tournaments, adding to the existing sports portfolio and reaffirming the broadcaster as the home of live sport in the UK & Ireland.
Sky Sports’ new mixed reality studio features multiple custom built LED screens, integrated light ‘sabres’, and an open canopy roof, making the space alive with colour and energy to reflect the vibrancy of the last Grand Slam of the year.
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From Novak Djokovic to Iga Swiatek- it is time to meet the US Open champion contenders!
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The technology involved allows us to add an entire new dimension and will bring customers closer to the action.
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