Emma Raducanu v Naomi Osaka: What they had to say about each other
Grand Slam winners Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka will face each other for the first time in their careers at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
Both kicked off their North American hard-court swing with straight-set victories in Washington DC as 2021 US Open winner Raducanu upset seventh seed Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 and not long after, four-time major champion Osaka defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 7-5.
The pair will now meet in the second round and Raducanu admits it will be a “great test”.
“I think it’s a great match for a lot of spectators, which is great to be a part of,” the 22-year-old said. “I felt the same way when I played Aryna [Sabalenka] at Wimbledon. That atmosphere was unbeatable for me. I think all the exposure I get to these top opponents … she’s won four Grand Slams, so an incredible achievement and incredible career so far.
“And she’s been playing really good tennis this year. Yeah, it will be a great test of my own game and myself.”
Raducanu started the WTA 500 event on the back of a run to the third round at Wimbledon where she defeated fellow Brit Mimi Xu and former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in two sets before losing 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 against world No 1 Sabalenka.
The match against Sabalenka was far from a one-sided match as there were glimpses of the player who won the 2021 US Open and she continued that form against Kostyuk.
Osaka also reached the last 64 at Wimbledon as she defeated Talia Gibson and Katerina Siniakova in straight sets before losing in three sets against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The former world No 1 is excited about facing Raducanu next.
“I’m always a person that loves when people are entertained,” the 27-year-old said. “So I would say I’m excited about it. I’ve never played her before, so for me, that’s something really cool too.
“Because I have seen her, I guess when she first did well at Wimbledon before she won the US Open, like moments like that, and I knew she was a good player. So I guess for our paths to finally cross is really cool.”
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Raducanu is projected to climb five places in the WTA Rankings to No 41 after her latest win – putting her just one place behind Katie Boulter in the race to be the British No 1 – while Osaka is not too far behind as she has risen three places in the Live Rankings to No 48.
A return to the top 40 is waving for Raducanu if she gets the better of Osaka while the Japanese player could climb to No 42 if she wins the WTA 500 encounter in Washington DC.
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