Emma Raducanu: Briton to face World No.2 Iga Swiatek after reaching Australian Open third round | Tennis news
Emma Raducanu will take on five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek after battling multiple injury problems to beat Amanda Anisimova in the second round of the Australian Open.
The former US Open winner’s preparation for the tournament was disrupted by a back spasm, and during the second set she had treatment for what appeared to be a lower back problem.
There were five more double faults – a significant improvement on the 15 in her first-round win over Ekaterina Alexandrova – but that didn’t stop her reaching the last 32 here for the first time thanks to a 6-3 7-5 win over the big-hitting American Anisimos.
She will now get a fourth crack at world No. 2 Swiatek, against whom she has yet to win a set.
“This is the Slam I love to play in, so getting to the second round means a lot to me,” said Raducanu.
“It’s incredibly difficult whenever you’re playing with a friend, it adds another dimension to the match and not necessarily an enjoyable one. I think I did a good job. I knew I didn’t have to go away in the second set.”
She continued: “It was tough today, it was a bit windy, there was sun on one side. They both had a few moments with our serve. The way I was able to regroup at the end of the first one, I was pretty proud of that.
“It’s difficult. I haven’t played a match for a long time. The way I play is quite sporty, I use my body a lot.
“I felt it a little bit, but I’m glad to have some time to recover before the next match. I love it. It’s another chance to test my game. I think obviously (Swiatek) has achieved so much already and I don’t think I have any lose, I’ll do my best and I can’t wait to play in front of you.”
The story of the tape
Raducanu and Anisimova are friends off the court and there are similarities in their tennis stories, the American first reaching the fourth round and quarterfinals of the French Open here as a 17-year-old.
Anisimova has had some big wins at the Grand Slams, particularly in Melbourne, and is one of the purest natural hitters on the tour.
This was evident when the American took a 3-1 lead, with Raducan’s serve holding better, but Anisimova coming back and catching everything she could.
Anisimova had two chances to lead 4-1 but failed to capitalize on either and from then on Raducan dug in well, surviving more pressure to hold serve for the first time and mixing up her game intelligently.
Five games in a row gave her the first set, but Raducan suffered a few setbacks during her service games and looked up to new fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura.
In the opening game of the second set, she served three double faults, all from the left side, and then asked referee Mohamed Lahyani to call the coach.
She was 3-0 down by the time she took a medical time-out but, although Raducan’s grimaces continued, the break seemed to have more of an effect on Anisimova and a series of errors from the 23-year-old allowed the Briton to pull level.
Raducanu had more treatment after losing serve again and trailing 4-3, but she still clearly believed she could win the match and, after another break, two big fists met the hold to put her within a game of victory.
Anisimova withstood the pressure that time, but two games later, a forehand winner that ended a good back-and-forth point led to the first match point, and Raducanu took advantage, dropping her racket on the court and putting her hands to her head in celebration.
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