In the past year, there have been examples of Swiatek struggling against aggressive baseliners like Raducanu – notably in her Australian Open exit 12 months ago.
Czech Linda Noskova, then 19, ramped up the power and that paid dividends in a three-set comeback win.
Afterwards, Swiatek said she had felt “stressed” and “uncomfortable” at being unable to adapt.
However, she has appeared to learn from that experience.
Overcoming difficulties against Japan’s four-time major winner Naomi Osaka at the French Open and Britain’s Katie Boulter at the recent United Cup match indicated her progress at problem-solving against this type of player.
On both occasions, Swiatek initially tried to match her opponent for pace and the increased speed on her groundstrokes led to a series of unforced errors.
Once she stopped trying to outhit them, hitting loopier returns instead of flatter ones, each contest swung her way.
Nevertheless, you would imagine Raducanu needs to be aggressive from the baseline rather than simply counter-punching to give herself a chance.
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