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British number one Emma Raducanu says "using the positive energy from the place" is the best way to approach the defence of her US Open title.
Raducanu, 19, stunned the world last year by winning the New York major as a previously unknown qualifier.
Seeded 11th now, she starts against France's Alize Cornet in Tuesday's night session (00:00 BST, Wednesday).
"You're just starting from scratch. I need to discard any pressures there are from the outside," she said.
"You face the person in front of you and I know people will want to beat me. But I've got to stay on it and stay super focused."
Raducanu is one of three Britons playing on Tuesday, with seventh seed Cameron Norrie and 20th seed Dan Evans starting their bids for the men's singles.
Norrie, who is looking to follow up his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, faces unpredictable Frenchman Benoit Paire at 16:00 BST, while Evans plays Czech Jiri Vesely at about 18:00 BST.
The trio are aiming to join Andy Murray, Harriet Dart and Jack Draper in reaching the second following their wins on Monday.
Discussing his targets in New York, world number nine Norrie said: "Just the same goal, to try to make the second week again and then go from there."
| Tuesday's order of play on the New York showcourts | |
|---|---|
| Arthur Ashe Stadium | Louis Armstrong Stadium: |
| Day session from 17:00 BST | Day session from 16:00 BST |
| Sebastian Baez (Arg) v Carlos Alcaraz (Spa) | Iga Swiatek (Pol) [1] v Jasmine Paolini (Ita) |
| Alison van Uytvanck (Bel) v Venus Williams (US) | Greet Minnen (Bel) v Sloane Stephens (US) |
| Daniel Altmaier (Ger) v Jannik Sinner (Ita) [11] | |
| Night session from 00:00 BST, Wed | Night session from 00:00 BST, Wed |
| Rinky Hijikata (Aus) v Rafael Nadal (Spa) [2] | Emma Raducanu (GB) [11] v Alize Cornet (Fra) |
| Naomi Osaka (Jpn) v Danielle Collins (US) [19] | Diego Schwartzman (Arg) [11] v Jack Sock (US) |
Raducanu, as she expected and as most young players do, has found the step up to playing full-time on the WTA Tour a demanding experience.
Having seen her momentum regularly disrupted, the teenager has been unable to string together consistent results and has win-loss record of 13-15 this season.
More concerns about her fitness came at Flushing Meadows on Friday, although she insisted a wrist problem was not serious and looked in much better shape when she practised against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Saturday.
"I think you guys are thinking probably more about pressure and ranking than me," Raducanu told the media in a news conference before the tournament started.
"I think defending a title is just something that the press makes up. I'm just taking it one match at a time."
Going into the summer of 2021, few outside British tennis circles had heard of Raducanu. By the end of the US Open in September, she was a national superstar and known around the globe.
Winning the title as an 18-year-old qualifier was a staggering achievement, one that had never been done before at any of tennis' four majors.
This week, she has returned to Flushing Meadows for the first time and said it felt "amazing" to be back.
"I have a lot of memories, for sure. The most significant one was walking into the grounds today and seeing my name printed on the wall of past champions. It is there forever and nobody will take it off me," said Raducanu.
"I remember when it went up and I took a photo with it, so it is really nice to see that there and it reminds me of what I achieved."
