Rampant Emma Raducanu races past Victoria Azarenka in Cincinnati

As Emma Raducanu wrapped up her media obligations close to 10pm here on Tuesday night, still digesting all she had experienced that evening, she faced another one of the learning experiences that have characterised her past year.

After the euphoria and adrenaline of snuffing out Serena Williams before her thunderous home crowd, Raducanu was charged with forgetting it all and quickly moving on, another former No 1 waiting for a shot at her the next day. She handled the challenge with supreme, startling ease, following up her dismantling of Williams with an even more destructive performance.

In just 62 minutes Raducanu eviscerated Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2 to reach the third round on her Cincinnati debut. At the most opportune time, with her US Open title defence one tournament away, Raducanu’s confidence continues to grow.

One of the most difficult tasks in professional tennis is to remain composed after a big, impactful win and then back it up with tennis of the same quality in the following rounds. It became immediately clear that there would be no hangover as Raducanu flitted out of the blocks, returning solidly and breaking Azarenka’s serve in the opening game. The pressure she imposed on her opponent was not dissimilar to how Azarenka conducts herself when in form, smothering her rivals by hugging the baseline and producing clean, early, and precise ball striking.

As the games continued to fall in her favour, the ease with which Raducanu picked apart Azarenka was startling. After inflicting a bagel on Williams on Tuesday, in her very next set she did the same on another champion, taking the first set 6-0.

By contrast to Raducanu’s late start, brought on by the rescheduling of her first‑round match with Williams and