Emma Raducanu will play in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships, but she's going to face a tricky player, and she expects a battle.
There are many connecting dots between Raducanu and her next opponent, Lulu Sun. Both have Chinese heritage through their mothers, while their fathers hail from Europe.
Both were born in one country but raised in a totally different one. Sun was born in New Zealand but raised in Switzerland, and Raducanu was born in Canada but raised in the United Kingdom.
Now, they're going to face each other in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Both have played really well to make it to the second week of the event, and that's why Raducanu expects a proper battle.
She's not too familiar with Sun, having only played her in the juniors but not recently. Even so, she's expecting a tough battle because she fairly assessed that a player doesn't make the fourth round of Wimbledon without playing some really solid tennis.
"Lulu I played in juniors with. I know she's just a very tough competitor like everyone. You don't qualify, make 4th round if you're not extremely dangerous beating the players that she has. I'm expecting a really tough match. Qualifiers are sometimes more dangerous so I'm really up for a battle."
"She’s had three extra matches here at Wimbledon and she is not to be underestimated. I'm expecting her to be really dangerous and come out swinging so it's going to be a really tough match."
Raducanu called herself an underdog a few times this week against higher-ranked opponents, but this time around, she avoided that. Sun is the underdog because of the Brit's undeniable qualities, especially on grass courts, but that doesn't mean that it will be an easy match.
As Raducanu pointed out, sometimes the competitors can be even tougher because they're highly motivated to do well. She experienced it herself, coming through the qualifying to win the 2021 US Open.