Australian Open 2025: Emma Raducanu sets up Iga Swiatek clash with hard-fought second round win
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Emma Raducanu will play five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatke in the third round of the Australian Open after the British No.2 came through a tough battle with world No.35 Amanda Anisimova.
Raducanu had to overcome pain and more issues on serve to beat the 2017 Roland Garros semi-finalist 6-3, 7-5 in an hour and 50 minutes.
It’s the first time that Raducanu has made it into the third round at Melbourne Park in four visits.
"To make it past the second round means a lot to me," said Raducanu. "I thought I played really well in some big moments in that match. I had to fight hard and not go away even when the chips were down.
“I was able to push past some pain. When you haven't played a match in so long, then to have two really physical ones, I think small niggles are going to come up here and there. I'm just hoping that it is that."
Awaiting her in round three will be where she will play second seed Swiatek in what will be the fifth meeting between the two – the Pole having won the previous four. Swiatek made the third round after a comprehensive 6-0, 6-1 win over Rebecca Sramkova.
"I've played a lot of tennis today and two days ago, so I don't think I need to overdo it on the practice court,” she added. "I'll probably have a light hit (before the third round). Nothing crazy."
Much like Raducanu’s opening match against Alexandrova, the Briton’s second round became a battle of resilience with 13 breaks of serve between them
Raducanu – who had been dealing with a back injury coming into the Australian Open admitted she had to ‘push past some pain’ to get through the match.
Her serving was a key point of focus from round one and Anisimova was able to take advantage early with some heavy ball-striking that saw the 2021 US Open champion lose both her opening service games.
Equally however, Anisimova had her own issues on serve and held just once in her five service games during the first set – saving none of the four break points faced.
After a couple of holds saw Raducanu clinch the set, the doubles faults from the first round returned as Anisimova took a 3-0 lead in the second and Raducanu was forced to call the trainer.
The short break seemed to do her wonders as the British star managed to not only manage the pain she was experiencing but also have time to collect herself.
She immediately overturned the double break deficit and the pressure started to tell for Anisimova. The 23-year-old American – who is a former Roland Garros semi-finalist – amassed 26 unforced errors to Raducanu’s nine in the second set as she started to lose any control she had in the match,
Leading 6-5, Raducanu saved another break point before another error from the American’s backhand meant that she could see out a scrappy but hard-fought victory.
When is Emma Raducanu playing next?
Emma Raducanu and Ig Swiatek are scheduled to play their third round match on Saturday 18 January - timings TBC.
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