John McEnroe believes Emma Raducanu has a chance of beating Iga Swiatek when the duo meet in the Australian Open in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Raducanu has been impressive Down Under so far, with the 22-year-old yet to drop a set in victories over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova.
The Briton is bidding to win her second Grand Slam, having previously conquered the US Open nearly four years ago.
Swiatek, as the second seed, will represent her toughest test yet.
Emma Raducanu is currently preparing for her match with Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open
REUTERS
The 23-year-old has also fared well in the tournament so far with victories over Kateřina Siniaková and Rebecca Šramková.
Yet McEnroe thinks Raducanu stands a good chance of beating her rival as she looks to make the fourth round.
“To me, when you play a top player like Iga who’s not as comfortable on hard courts as she is on clay, it’s a good time to play her, when she’s not quite sure of herself,” he told Eurosport.
“Radacanu’s making progress but it’ll be a tall order.
“If she’s feeling right, she’ll have a shot at it. It’s good to see her back in the mix.”
Tim Henman also opened up on Raducanu.
And the former British No 1 said: “We can focus on kind of either end of the court.
“I would focus on what Raducanu’s doing – she just needs matches. She needs to keep this physical resilience to keep her confidence on the match court.
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic calls out Tim Henman at Australian Open over Andy Murray comments – ‘I saw’
“She’s obviously playing against the world No 2, Swiatek who is a brilliant player, but hard courts are not her favourite surface, so Raducanu needs to go in with a clear game plan and belief that she can take down Swiatek.
“It’s a good opportunity as Emma said in her post-match interview, to go out there and look to be aggressive and play with real freedom.
“If she’s passive, Swiatek has the weapons to hit her off the court.
“But if she can get those early strikes in, then she has a good chance.”
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
John McEnroe believes Emma Raducanu has a chance of beating Iga Swiatek when the duo meet in the Australian Open in the early hours of Saturday morning
GETTY
Raducanu, for her part, is relishing her status as the underdog as she looks to go all the way.
“I’m loving it. It’s another opportunity to test my game,” she said on Thursday.
“I think obviously she’s [Swiatek] achieved so much already and I think going into it, I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to swing. I’m going to give it my best and I can’t wait to play in front of you guys.
“She is a top player, she’s been really consistent over the last quite a few years. So it’s going to be a match for me where I feel like I don’t really have much expectation externally.
Emma Raducanu is yet to drop a set as she gears up for her match with Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open
REUTERS
“I think you always have the pressure that you put on yourself to perform to your best ability, which is not really going to change, but that’s every match.
“I’m looking forward to going out there and testing my game against the best, because, ultimately, you play tennis and you live for these matches. It’s going to be a great buzz of adrenaline.”
+ There are no comments
Add yours