Emma Raducanu identifies her biggest weapon ahead of Iga Swiatek showdown

Kevin Palmer
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Emma Raducanu's serve has become a major weapon
Emma Raducanu's serve has become a major weapon

Emma Raducanu has insisted she has ‘nothing to lose’ heading into her Stuttgart Open quarter-final against world No 1 Iga Swiatek, as she picked out the big weapon she now has in her armoury.

Raducanu says the best is yet to come as she beat Linda Noskova 6-0 7-5 in Germany to set up a mouth-watering last-eight tie with Swiatek.

After a few days that has seen her win two Billie Jean King Cup matches and back it up with her run in Stuttgart, Raducanu’s long-awaited revival finally seems to be gathering momentum.

Now she faces the biggest test in women’s tennis and when she was asked to identify her biggest weapon, she was quick to pick out on key shot.

“I think it helps I feel like the last two tournaments, I’d say, I have more of a serve, so it’s more of a weapon,” said Raducanu.

“I feel like I can raise my game more on that. I feel like at the start of the year it was more just having to work so hard and win every point from the baseline. I feel like that definitely makes a difference.

“Equally I just feel like I trust all the work I have been doing on the practice courts so much. I have been working at it really hard. I wouldn’t say, yeah, I do anything particularly special. I just try and stay in the present and rely and fall back on my training.”

Raducanu is now looking forward to another meeting with Swiatek, with their last in Stuttgart coming at the same stage of the tournament two years ago.

READ MORE: Emma Raducanu reveals key advice from her coach before she sealed another big win

“We actually had a pretty tough match. I think it was like 4 and 4, something like that,” recalled Raducanu.

“I remember I served really well in that match and it kept me in. It’s obviously tough playing Iga, because she plays pretty heavy, she plays fast. She has a lot of options at her disposal.

“It’s obviously going to be a really difficult match tomorrow but one where I have zero to lose and I think one that the crowd really want to see.”

Raducanu also suggested she is relishing the chance to shine on clay, even though it is not a surface she played on too often growing up in England.

“I think it’s, one, low expectations,” Raducanu said. “You go out there, you’re, like, ‘OK, we have like two, three clay courts in Great Britain that we can use and practice on it for two weeks. Hey, let’s give it a go.’

“It’s a combination of that, but it’s also I think since a young age I always love moving on this surface. I love sliding. I feel like I’m pretty good at sliding on both legs, which is a strength.

“I think the fitter I get and the more clean my technique gets, the more I’m able to kind of stay in the longer points and generate from further back,” Raducanu said, “whereas I feel maybe before I was having to hug the baseline, play a hard court game on clay as well. It works sometimes, but it doesn’t always work.

“I feel like I’m developing more versatility in the way I play. I can adjust. I can adapt. That’s a big strength, because certain things, you get into a match and they don’t work from the initial plan, so you have to change something. You can completely switch the dynamics of a match sometimes.”

Swiatek is relishing the chance to take on the revived Raducanu, as she suggested the British youngster is finding her feet on clay.

“Well, she seems like she’s getting her game back together, so it’s great to see that because for sure she has potential,” said Swiatek.

“It’s not going to be easy. She knows how to spin the ball and how to move on clay, as well.

“I’m not taking it for granted or anything. I know that anything can happen in tennis, and if I lose, it’s going to obviously be, like, a huge surprise, but it’s normal, you know? So I’ll try to focus on each match at a time and not think about winning because it’s still a long way.”

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