Fourth time’s the charm for Emma Raducanu? British teen sensation handed another shot at facing idol Simona Halep
Emma Raducanu is once again just one match away from facing off against her tennis idol Simona Halep following the WTA draw for the Miami Open.
The Brit and Romanian, seeded 11th and 23rd respectively at the WTA 1000 event, will meet should they both win their first matches.
Raducanu will take on Katerina Siniakova or a qualifier in the second round after receiving a first round bye, while Halep will take on Greet Minnen or Daria Saville.
Since winning the US Open in September, Raducanu, who is herself half Romanian by her father, has come within one match of facing Halep on three occasions, with the match-up on her racket all three times.
In her first event after New York at Indian Wells 2021, Raducanu would have faced Halep had she beaten Aliaksandra Sasnovich, but she fell to the Belarusian in straight sets.
The same was true at the Transylvania Open in Cluj, Romania later in October, before Raducanu had another chance at the Australian Open but lost to Danka Kovinic in the second round there before she could have met Halep in the third.
Halep has shown strong form in 2022 so far, already claiming a WTA 250 title in Melbourne to start the season, reaching the semi-finals of Indian Wells and compiling a win-loss record of 15-4.
Meanwhile, Raducanu is 2-4 so far this year, meaning the likelihood is that once again it will be up to the 19-year-old to make a meeting with Halep happen.
Raducanu is making her debut at the Miami Open as she was ranked 356th in the world just prior to last year’s event.
Take a look at our WTA Miami Open draw preview for a wider look at the women’s competition.
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