Yet the doubters were turned into believers as 2021 US Open champion Raducanu produced one of her best performances since that epic win in New York to beat world No 36 Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic 6-4 6-1.
This was not a contest between a player ranked outside of the top 250 in the world and an opponent who will be close to being seeded at the next month’s WTA 1000 Indian Wells tournament.
In fact, the player performing like a top 20 player in this match was Raducanu, as she overcame some early inconsistencies to blast her opponent off the court in a manner that brought back memories of her historic Grand Slam win two and a half years ago.
Raducanu has been through so much since that breakthrough tournament and her eagerness to come back from double wrist and ankle surgery last year is evidence of the desire the 21-year-old has to creae more glory on the tennis court.
And if she produces performances like the display she served up against Bouzkova, her days outside the top 100 on the WTA rankings will be brief.
There were seven breaks of serve in an unpredictable first set in this match, yet once Raducanu took it with a strong finish, she moved through the gears to blow her rival away.
Her blistering backhand was a joy to behold, with her serve and forehand improving as the match went on to a point that Bouzkova – a 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist – looked a beaten player long before the final shot was struck.
“I think in the beginning I was just adjusting to the speed of the court,” said Raducanu.
“I hadn’t played on this court this year yet, so I was kind of just adjusting. It was pretty quick and also a lot more still than it had been for the week because it’s been very windy, so it was a different tempo.
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“Marie is a really tough opponent. I knew that going in I
“Marie is a really tough opponent. I knew that going in I was going to have to play so many balls and I think in the beginning I was missing a few of the finishing shots, but I cleaned that up so I’m very happy.
“Marie is really tough to put the ball away against, she makes so many balls, so I’m really pleased to come through that.”
If Raducanu opted to play in the lower tier tournament in Romania this week, she would have needed a run to the end of the tournament to pick up the kind of ranking points that will now be coming her way after just one victory in Abu Dhabi.
The win against Bouzkova will move Raducanu up 37 places in the provisional WTA rankings to No 259 and there will be a leap close to the top 200 if she wins her next match.
She is also up to No 49 in the rankings for 2024, which may provide a glimpse of a more realistic snapshot of her ranking rather than the rolling WTA list.
That will be against two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur and while that will be a huge step up for Raducanu, the powerful hitting she displayed against Bouzkova confirmed she is capable of hitting players off the court when she finds her range.
There are elements of his game that lack consistency and that is inevitable after such a long time away from the court and the gravity of the surgery she undertook less than a year ago.
What Raducanu proved in her most impressive performance in a year was she made the right decision to go to Abu Dhabi and Jabeur will not be relishing the prospect of playing the Brit on Wednesday.
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