Iga Swiatek Delivers Masterclass To Dismantle Emma Raducanu At Australian Open
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Iga Swiatek's impressive level at the Australian Open got even better in a crushing victory against Emma Raducanu in the third round.
The five-time Grand Slam champion started her campaign by winning a high-quality match against Katerina Siniakova. Although the final score of 6-3, 6-4 looked comfortable, Siniakova pushed her higher-ranked opponent hard.
That was followed a much more dominant victory in the second round against Rebecca Sramkova. Swiatek only dropped two games and did not face a single break point throughout the contest.
Raducanu, who could not play any warmup tournaments because of a back spasm she had sustained at the ASB Classic, surprised some with her level despite her lack of preparation. She defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round.
Her 6-3, 7-5 win against Amanda Anisimova was arguably the 22-year-old's best performance of the last 12 months. Raducanu weathered a storm from her hard-hitting opponent and showed superb defensive skills to triumph in straight sets.
However, Raducanu would have known that she almost certainly needed an even better performance to have a chance against Swiatek. There were also some doubts about her fitness after she admitted to feeling the back injury from the start of the season against Anisimova.
The 2021 US Open winner was under pressure from the start. After Swiatek easily held serve to start the match, Raducanu had to fight back from 15-40 to hold for 1-1. That included winning a high-quality point that left her smiling afterward.
Unfortunately for the Briton and her fans, she had nothing else to smile about after that moment. Swiatek's relentless baseline hitting put Raducanu under constant pressure, and the Pole reeled off five consecutive games to take the opening set 6-1.
Although Swiatek's serve is not what she is best known for, the Pole has significantly improved that shot in the last 12 months. This was demonstrated by only dropping two points on serve in the first set against Raducanu.
The pattern continued in the second. It would be unfair for anyone to question Raducanu's effort and determination. She was desperately trying to hang in against the former WTA world No. 1. A combination of Swiatek's brilliance and untimely unforced errors made it an impossible task.
Raducanu saved three break points in the second set's opening game but still lost her serve after missing a routine groundstroke on the fourth opportunity. The pre-match underdog got to 15-30 on Swiatek's serve in the next game but lost the following three points to lose any hope of breaking.
Although she was still running hard, Raducanu's body language between points began to look more resigned from that point. Swiatek showed no mercy to her opponent and continued to ruthlessly take every opportunity available to finish the match quickly
Raducanu had a game point to stop the rot at 1-6, 0-4, but Swiatek snuffed out the chance with a delightful angled backhand before breaking again. The four-time French Open then completed a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of the former US Open champion.
Many rated Swiatek as the third favorite for the Australian Open women's singles title behind Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff before the tournament began. If she keeps playing this well, Swiatek can undoubtedly challenge that pair for the title.
