Emma Raducanu will face a grass specialist in her first match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, and she feels like an underdog.
The Brit had a decent grass preparation for Wimbledon because she skipped over the Roland Garros in favor of preparing better for the grass-court part of the season. It started in Nottingham, where she played really well and won a couple of matches.
She then took a week off but returned to Eastbourne, where she also played well before running into a very inspired Daria Kasatkina, who went on to win the trophy. She admitted ahead of Wimbledon that she felt very confident about her chances but struck a more cautious tone during her pre-event press conference.
When asked by the media about facing Ekaterina Alexandrova, a well-known grass specialist, in the first round of the tournament, Raducanu admitted that she felt like an underdog.
"It's a tough match. She's seeeded really well and it's obviously going to be hard. She's got great weapons and on this surface, on grass, it only amplifies the big weapons."
"I'm expecting a really difficult match and it's a match where I'm actually the complete underdog because she's a lot more experienced and ranked a lot higher."
Raducanu isn't too worried about the level of her opponent because she sees it as a great opportunity to score a good win over a good player. She feels really good after her Eastbourne experience and will just treat it as an opportunity to get back into playing at majors.
"For me it's a good opportunity to get a good scalp, just trying to enjoy playing how I have been playing the last few weeks and just get back into it."
Some analysts have publicly called Raducanu a dark horse to watch at this year's Wimbledon. There are reasons to feel that way, but maybe it's a bit too optimistic. Her loss to Daria Kasatkina was a reality check in many ways.
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