‘I absolutely believe Emma Raducanu can upset Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open’, declares former British No 1

Ewan West 17 Jan 2025 3:47 PM

Emma Raducanu and Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open

Former British No 1 Laura Robson has asserted that she “absolutely believes” Emma Raducanu can upset Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Australian Open.

Robson feels Raducanu will “really relish the challenge” of facing Swiatek on the big stage as she assessed that the conditions could help her fellow countrywoman.

Raducanu will face off with five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek on Rod Laver Arena in the third round of the hard-court major on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Brit earned impressive straight-set victories against Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova in her first two matches.

Swiatek, the world No 2, has said she could relate to the difficulties Raducanu has faced since winning the 2021 US Open.

“Oh, yeah, for sure, it’s hard. Even sometimes when I lose some matches, I realise that people just expect me to win because I won so much earlier, that they got used to it,” the 23-year-old Pole told the media after her second round win in Melbourne.

“But no, this is constant work and taking care of many things also off the court and having good people around you, managing your whole life basically so you can play good and consistently.

“Everybody’s story is different, and everybody struggles with different stuff, but it doesn’t matter. When we’re going to be out there on the court, whoever is going to play better will win, and that’s it.

“I’ll just focus on tennis. For sure, we have different stories, but before the match, I’m not going to really think about that. I’ll just prepare based on how she plays now and that’s it.”

Robson, who reached a career-high ranking of world No 27, previewed the highly-anticipated third round matchup.

“I absolutely believe she (Raducanu) can cause an upset. What she’s done in the first two matches is compete and play the big points well,” Robson told Eurosport.

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“She hasn’t been playing her best tennis – it was double faults in the first round and then unforced errors in the second round as it was a blustery day. She is getting the job done and growing with confidence as the tournament goes on.

“She will love the challenge of playing Iga. I think it’s one of those matches she will go into excited about. She loves a big stadium, love a big crowd to play in front of and she will really relish the challenge.

“Melbourne weather can change at the drop of a hat. At the moment, the forecast for tomorrow is 30 Celsius and boiling hot. The court will be playing fast which Emma will enjoy.

“Part of the choices Iga is playing this season is playing slightly defensive at time and not getting sucked into these heavy hitting rallies and not trying to out power her opponent.

“I’m excited to get this one going and I think the crowd will be pumped up. They are huge superstars of the sport.”

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