The hunt for a tennis superfan, who spurred Emma Raducanu on to a first-round victory at the Australian Open on Sunday, is over.
Sydneysider James Bray has become an overnight internet sensation after he was heard cheering for the British No 1 during her 6-4 6-1 victory against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
Bray, who had been wearing a green and gold singlet with ‘Australia’ emblazoned on it, had given Raducanu a very Aussie nickname, dubbing the 2021 US Open champion, ‘Raddo’. He proceeded to passionately cheer her on throughout the match.
Raducanu got off to a sluggish start, going 1-3, 15-40 down inside the first 20 minutes of the match. But thanks to the rapturous support inside the Margarate Court Arena, she quickly bounced back.
After the match, the Brit, who had been struggling with a foot injury in the build-up to the Australian Open, put out a public plea to find the tennis fan, who had given her a new nickname.
‘Thank you to the support, I think it was incredible on both sides, and a particular shout-out to ‘Raddo’, apparently, is my new nickname,’ Raducanu said, laughing during her post-match interview.
Sydneysider James Bray (centre) became an overnight sensation for his passionate support of Emma Raducanu on Sunday
He had dubbed the British star (pictured) ‘Raddo’ and proceeded to cheer her on as the world No 29 bested Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4 6-1 at the Australian Open on Sunday
Pointing to Bray in the stands, she added: ‘You’re invited for every match, just let me know, let my agent know, and you’re here!’
Bray later revealed that Raducanu’s agent has since reached out to him to invite him to her second-round match against world No 55, Anastasia Potapova.
‘I’m a massive tennis fan first of all,’ Bray told The Daily Telegraph at Melbourne Park on Monday. ‘I love the Australian Open and love what they do here.
‘Massive Emma fan, as well. Went to the match. Just cheered her on.
‘Being an Australian, we like to shorten every possible name we can. So I thought Raducanu to ‘Raddo’ was pretty smart, maybe not that clever, but it obviously stuck.
‘And she was a fan. I appreciate her shouting me out, that was very generous.
‘It’s been quite fun!’
Bray has now received an invite to Raducanu’s next match against Anastasia Potapova
Bray (pictured) added that Australian’s like to shorten every nickname, so he revealed that’s where ‘Raddo’ came from
Bray has since changed the bio on his Instagram to read ‘Australia’s Number One Tennis Fan.’ He was recently seen in the stands at the United Cup, waving a blow-up Kangaroo in the air and was also seen cheering on fellow Aussie from the stands at the 2024 Australian Open.
He added that he had woken up to around 1,000 messages from family, friends, and people overseas.
‘I just called Emma Raducanu, ‘Raddo’!’
On whether he’d be coming up with any new nicknames, Bray revealed the funny nickname he gave to fellow Brit Cameron Norrie.
‘I’m a nickname guy,’ he said. ‘A couple of years ago we were watching Cameron Norrie and I called him the ‘NozDog’, and that seemed to stick.
‘I’ll stick to Raddo, for sure.’
It was a clinical performance from the British No 1, who struck 17 winners past Sawangkaew.
After leaving the court, the Brit also paid a nod to her new nickname, writing ‘Raddo’ on a camera lens.
Raducanu embraced the nickname, appearing to sign ‘Raddo’ on a camera lens after the match
After the match, she added that she’s never been called ‘Raddo’ before.
‘Never heard that before. Pretty original,’ she said.
‘Obviously, I loved the support. I thought it was great on both sides. To have that on my side, really, in the big moments, it was a good spur of encouragement. I said, of course, he can come to any match. I just need to try to locate him. I hope he comes back.’
Raducanu once again had a rushed build-up for the tournament due to an ankle injury, with the Brit only returning to the court in late December.
Raducanu was left distinctly unimpressed by being scheduled in the first night session after a men’s match, but Alexander Bublik’s swift win over Jenson Brooksby meant she was not faced with playing into the small hours.
She also had an unfamiliar opponent in front of her in the shape of 23-year-old Sawangkaew, who is ranked a lowly 196 but began the year by winning a title on home soil in Thailand.
Raducanu’s movement was noticeably sluggish in the early stages and she may well have lost the opening set had Sawangkaew taken one of two chances to go a double-break up at 1-3.
But the 28th seed found some inspiration when she needed it and worked her way into the contest, levelling at 4-4 and then breaking her opponent again to take the opening set.
Raducanu once again had a rushed build-up for the tournament due to an ankle injury, with the Brit only returning to the court in late December
Raducanu said that she was ‘very happy with how she kept competing.’ The Brit was seen back in training on Monday
Much stiffer tests await, including Russian-turned-Austrian Anastasia Potapova next and potentially Aryna Sabalenka in the third round, but there were encouraging signs in the way Raducanu found a greater weight of shot in the second set, and she clinched her first match point with an ace.
She cut a happy figure afterwards, saying of her start: ‘I actually didn’t feel particularly bad in terms of doing much wrong. I thought she was serving incredibly well, better than I probably expected going on to the court. Returns were dropping very deep on the line a couple of times early on.
‘That puts a lot of pressure on straightaway. Maybe I made a few errors thinking I had to do a bit too much early on. I was still looking for the forehand, doing the right things.
‘I was just very happy with how I kept competing. It was a really important game (at 1-3) to hold.
‘After that I think it was a combination of me finding my feet, my movement, dominating a bit more, and also a few errors from her. I ended up having a pretty good run of games. I’m really proud of myself.’
The good news for Raducanu is she now has two days off to prepare for her next match, while the result ended a perfect first day for British players, with Cameron Norrie and qualifier Arthur Fery both making the second round in the men’s singles.