Emma Raducanu ‘looking forward’ to matchup with world No.1 Iga Swiatek
Emma Raducanu has won continued her winning run on clay, with the Brit setting up a quarter-final clash with world No.1 Iga Swiatek.
Raducanu beat Linda Noskova, 6-0 7-5, yesterday on the indoor clay courts in Stuttgart to win her fourth consecutive match.
This is the first time that Raducanu has won four matches in a row since winning the 2021 US Open title, but the 21-year-old admitted that she was ‘not too surprised’ by this rediscovered form.
“I must say I am not too surprised because I have been working really hard on the training court and I knew it was just a matter of time,” Raducanu said after the match.
“I don’t think this is my best, I still have a long way to go but I am really happy that the rewards are starting to come on the match court because you know how it is when you are training day in, day out and the results aren’t going your way.”
Raducanu added, “It’s never that far away I guess and that’s something I have been learning. Going through everything I have gone through after the US Open and then last year with eight months out with surgery, it gives you a different appreciation.”
It is the second time that Raducanu has reached the quarter-finals in Stuttgart, and she will face the exact same opponent in top seed and two-time defending champion Swiatek.
Last time out, Swiatek claimed a straight sets victory en route to the title and Raducanu has admitted that she is just going to ‘swing and enjoy it’.
“I have come a long way in two years and matured a lot. She [Swiatek] has achieved so much,” claimed Raducanu. “It’s a match where I have nothing to lose. I can just swing and enjoy it. I am looking forward to it.”
Raducanu and Swiatek will go head-to-head in Stuttgart later today, with the Pole looking to extend her nine-match winning streak at the WTA 500 tournament.
Inside the baseline…
Emma Raducanu is looking more and more comfortable on the clay courts, and just in her general matchplay after such a lengthy time out of action due to injury. Iga Swiatek will be a huge challenge for the Brit, and even more so on clay at a tournament where she is unbeaten.
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