Emma Raducanu was firing on all cylinders in her second-round match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, and she'll try to do the same against Maria Sakkari.
Raducanu will likely enter this match as a favorite, and there are a couple of reasons for that. First of all, the match she played against Elise Mertens was amazing. She's also quite familiar with grass and has played really well on the surface in recent weeks.
Sakkari is also a very good player, but she hasn't really played all that well this year. Her Wimbledon draw so far has been relatively comfortable, which is why she won the two matches easily, but she never advanced past the third round in London, and that speaks volumes.
Raducanu's career was short, but she went past the third round in the past, showing that she's much more experienced on the surface at SW19.
The only match they have played so far happened at the US Open in 2021, which Raducanu won. They met in the semi-final, and Raducanu bested her opponent comfortably 6-1, 6-4. If the Brit finds a similar level to the one she had against Mertens, she may be able to produce similar result.
Sakkari lost both of her preparation matches before Wimbledon. On top of that, she didn't face the highest-ranked in either match, and that's one of the reasons why fully confident, in-form Raducanu, backed by the crowd, could likely beat the Greek player as she did in the past.
| Emma Raducanu | Maria Sakkari | |
| 1 | H2H | 0 |
| 135 | Rank | 9 |
| 21 | Age | 28 |
| 15-9 | 2024 W/L | 21-12 |
| 113-58 | Career W/L | 464-300 |
Raducanu is favored in this match and for a good reason. She's likely to win it, not just because of the crowd backing, but also because of her better familiarity with the green low-bouncing surface, and especially Wimbledon's two biggest courts, where the match will likely be played.
Prediction: Emma Raducanu to win in two sets.