Iga Swiatek showed some appreciation and respect for Emma Raducanu ahead of their upcoming Australian Open battle, stating that the current world No. 62 “can play great tennis” and that she doesn’t expect an easy battle.
In the second round at Melbourne Park, the No. 2 seed was absolutely clinical after dismantling world No. 49 Rebecca Sramkova 6-0 6-2 in just an hour of play.
Now, Swiatek is set to meet a fellow Grand Slam champion for a place in the Australian Open round-of-16.
When they clash on Saturday, it will be their fourth meeting.
Previously, the Pole claimed three straight-set wins over Raducanu – beating the 2021 US Open champion twice on the clay courts of Stuttgart and once in Indian Wells.
Swiatek: I expect a tough battle, I’ll let coach Wim Fissette do his homework
“Well, you know more than me because I thought we played two times, but doesn’t matter, Well, for sure it’s going to be a tough one. Emma can play great tennis. We all know that,” the five-time Grand Slam champion said about facing the former world No. 10.
“So, yeah, I’ll just prepare as before any other match. For sure Wim will watch these matches that we played, because I don’t know if he saw them before since we weren’t working together yet.
“But, yeah, I’ll just… I don’t know. I’ll prepare tomorrow, and I’ll be ready (smiling).”
Iga Swiatek© Australian Open/X – Fair Use
Heading into the match, Raducanu enters as the underdog.
But she is also presumably full of confidence after kicking off her Australian Open campaign with back-to-back straight-set wins over 26th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova and world No. 35 Amanda Anisimova, respectively.
Considering the Briton’s current form, it shouldn’t be surprising that Swiatek spoke the way she did about the matchup.
It will be interesting to see if the Pole claims another routine win or if this time Raducanu finally gets her first victory over the world No. 2.
Tennis World USA