色人阁

Emma Raducanu looking to defy history in Iga Swiatek clash

Emma Raducanu will look to take the battle to Iga Swiatek when they clash in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday.

It will be a fourth tour-level meeting between the two grand slam champions, with Raducanu yet to win a set.

But she has pushed Swiatek in two matches on clay in Stuttgart, in 2022 and last year, while the Pole was a comfortable winner in Indian Wells in 2023.

鈥淪he鈥檚 a really top opponent, disciplined, so I鈥檓 going to have to play good tennis, but I take a lot of confidence from my last two rounds.鈥

Raducanu has defeated two strong players to make the last 32 in Melbourne for the first time, seeing off 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in round one and then former French Open semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova on Thursday.

There was concern when the 22-year-old took a medical time-out early in the second set for more treatment to her back, with a back spasm affecting her preparation for the tournament.

Emma Raducanu has treatment on her back
Emma Raducanu has treatment on her back (Vincent Thian/AP)

鈥淢entally pushing past anything, I鈥檓 pretty good at,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not necessarily the biggest challenge, I think the biggest challenge is probably just when you鈥檙e on the court feeling something physically and just the limitations that brings.

鈥淚 was really proud with how I overcame the situation and I鈥檝e given myself another chance and time to recover and turn it around.鈥

Raducanu鈥檚 first match against Swiatek came back in 2018 in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon girls鈥 singles.

Raducanu was 15 while Swiatek, then 17, had already begun to make inroads on the women鈥檚 tour, and the British hopeful won only a single game.

Swiatek has not looked back since, winning five grand slam titles and spending 125 weeks at world number one, but Raducanu insists there is no jealousy.

鈥淥f course I鈥檝e seen her win a lot, but I also know that we鈥檝e had very different paths,鈥 said the 22-year-old.

鈥淚 know that she was playing since a very young age, and my hours in comparison were probably a bit comical when I was 17, 18, playing six hours a week. I don鈥檛 think it was the same trajectory.

鈥淚 think now I鈥檓 working on building those foundations, and everyone does things at their own pace.鈥

Swiatek also won her maiden grand slam title as a teenager, at the French Open in 2020, and she can empathise with the pressure of expectation that followed Raducanu鈥檚 US Open victory.

鈥淔or sure it鈥檚 hard,鈥 said the second seed, who has been untroubled so far in Melbourne.

鈥淪ometimes when I lose some matches, I realise that people just expect me to win because I won so much earlier that they got used to it.

鈥淏ut no, this is constant work and taking care of many things also off the court and having good people around you, managing your whole life basically so you can play good and consistently. Everybody鈥檚 story is different, and everybody struggles with different stuff, but it doesn鈥檛 matter.

鈥淲hen we鈥檙e going to be out there on the court, whoever is going to play better will win, and that鈥檚 it. I鈥檒l just focus on tennis.

鈥淔or sure we have different stories, but before the match, I鈥檓 not going to really think about that. I鈥檒l just prepare based on how she plays now and that鈥檚 it. It鈥檚 going to be a tough one. Emma can play great tennis. We all know that.鈥

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