Despite failing to hit her best level, Emma Raducanu will compete in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time, where she faces five-time Grand Slam champion and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Iga Swiatek.
Although both women have not dropped a set en route to round three, their performance levels have been wide apart, with the Brit somehow coming through wins one and two unscathed, while Swiatek has all but pummelled her opponents heading into Saturday's contest.
Match preview
© Imago
If there was ever such a thing as self-sabotaging on a tennis court, events of Raducanu's victory over Amanda Anisimova will be Exhibit A.
Despite trailing 3-1 in the opening set and 3-0 in the second, the British player ultimately claimed both to seal a 6-3, 7-5 victory, profiting from an error-strewn Anisimova who accrued 44 unforced errors to the 22-year-old's 17.
Though the 2021 US Open champion was ropey on serve in her tournament opener against Ekaterina Alexandrova, as highlighted by 15 double faults, she progressed by sealing two tie-breaks to advance to Thursday's second round, where she benefitted from her opponent's poor execution.
The upshot of both triumphs means the one-time Grand Slam champion will compete in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time, having finally ended her Melbourne Park second-round hoodoo after three consecutive exits at that stage.
Her reward in match three is Swiatek, against whom she has never taken a set off in their three previous meetings, underscoring the enormity of this weekend's task.
© Imago
Though cliche, beating Swiatek will require the Polish star's level dropping against an opponent she has always fared well against in their three previous match-ups.
The second seed may have suffered disappointing exits in rounds four and three in the last two tournaments, but she is fancied for a second quarter-final appearance Down Under this year if the pattern from previous matches against Raducanu continues on Saturday.
With the winner then facing lucky loser Eva Lys or unseeded Jaqueline Cristian, the five-time majors champion's eyes should light up at the draw opening up, though she will be wary of her British opponent, who has advanced to the third round by winning ugly.
Dropping only two games in her 6-0, 6-2 victory over Rebecca Sramkova saw the 23-year-old emulate Martina Navratilova, Conchita Martinez and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario as the only women in the Open Era to reach 20 consecutive third-round matches at the majors, highlighting the Poland player's consistency through the years.
With Swiatek's only defeat this season coming against another in-form player in Coco Gauff, history and performances so far in 2025 suggest the second seed should not exit early at the opening Slam of the year.
Tournament so far
Emma Raducanu:
First round: vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6[4] 7-6[2]
Second round: vs. Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-5
Iga Swiatek:
First round: vs. Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-4
Second round: vs. Rebecca Sramkova 6-0 6-2
Head To Head
Stuttgart (2024) - Quarter-finals: Swiatek 7-6(2) 6-3
Indian Wells (2023) - Round of 16: Swiatek 6-3 6-1
Stuttgart (2022) - Stage: Swiatek 6-4 6-4
Swiatek leads her head-to-head with Raducanu 3-0; the 22-time WTA Tour champion has yet to drop a set against the British player.
The closest the 2021 US Open champion has ever come to claiming a set in this match-up was in Stuttgart last year, but the five-time majors winner sealed the opening set tie-break of that quarter-final encounter.
Raducanu's 2-9 win-loss record against top-10 opponents highlights her broader inferiority against elite players; however, both wins came in her most recent meetings with such opponents last year, beating Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne and Maria Sakkari at Wimbledon.
We say: Swiatek to win in two sets
On the evidence of the opening rounds, where Raducanu has struggled, the one-time Slam champion is anticipated to bow out in the third round.
Swiatek's expertise and elite level should see her execute better than the Brit's opponents in the opening two rounds, with the Polish star sealing a place in the fourth round against Lys or Cristian.
