Emma Raducanu is back to tennis, and her second match at the 2024 ASB Classic in Auckland will be a very tricky one against Elina Svitolina.
Very few players impressed as much as Elina Svitolina did last year, as the Ukrainian played some amazing tennis. Nobody really expected much from her upon return, but she did really well, especially at Grand Slams.
The first match in 2024 was a solid win over Caroline Wozniacki, so she'll clearly still 'got it'. When it comes to Raducanu, well, we all know what happened. She underwent triple surgery and spent the rest of the year building herself up to return to the sport.
It officially happened recently, and she won that match, though it was a close one.
Head-to-head:
Raducanu and Svitolina have never played before, so this will be their first time meeting. Stylistically, Svitolina could give Raducanu plenty of trouble due to the way she battles in every rally. Raduacnu mostly enjoyed attacking and promised to return to that style ahead of this year.
This is a perfect match to test herself in that regard because it's the style of play Svitolina is well suited to counter. If Raducanu can pass the test and win the match, then she'll put quite a few players on notice.
Prediction:
I could see it happening because doubting Raducanu has never been a good idea. She has all the tools to blast most players off the court, and it mostly depends on whether she feels confident enough. Still, Svitolina showed a really high level against Wozniacki in the first round.
She's one of those players that is well-equipped to counter this type of play by the Brit, so I expect this to be a close matchup. And I expect the Ukrainian to win the match because I just think she has more experience.
Prediction: Elina Svitolina to win in 3 sets.
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