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By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, January 15, 2025

 
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Emma Raducanu rallied past good friend Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5 to set up an Australian Open third-round showdown vs. Iga Swiatek.

Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty

Laying flat on her back on Kia Arena, Emma Raducanu climbed off the court to scale a personal peak at this Australian Open.

Raducanu rallied from deficits in the first and second set dispatching good friend Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the Australian Open third round for the first time in four appearances.

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“It's incredibly difficult whenever you play a friend, it adds another dimension to the match and not necessarily a pleasant one,” Raducanu said afterward. “It’s really difficult to put all things off court aside. I think I managed to do a great job today.

“She’s such an amazing opponent [and] had so many big wins. So I knew I had to fight hard, raise my game and not go away in the second set even when the chips are down. So I’m just really pleased and I wish her all the best.”



The good news for the 61st-ranked Briton: Raducanu has not dropped a set reaching her fourth career Grand Slam third round.

The bad news: Raducanu will face world No. 2 Iga Swiatek for a spot in the round of 16.

Give Swiatek an hour and she’ll give you a major win.

A ruthless Swiatek rampaged through seven straight games crushing Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 in a 60-minute thrashing.



It was one of Swiatek’s most complete performances of the season—she slammed 16 winners compared to 3 for the world No. 49.

Swiatek, who is playing for a maiden Australian Open final and to regain the world No. 1 ranking, is 3-0 lifetime vs. Raducanu sweeping all six sets they’ve played.

"Well, for sure it's going to be a tough one," Swiatek said of facing Raducanu. "Emma can play great tennis. We all know that.

"So, yeah, I'll just prepare as before any other match. For sure Wim [Fissette] will watch these matches that we played, because I don't know if he saw them before since we weren't working together yet."

This will be their second hard-court clash and first since the 2023 Indian Wells where Swiatek posted a 6-3, 6-1 win over Raducanu.

“I think the crowd likes it,” Raducanu said. “Of course it will be a very good match for me—every match I can play against these top opponents, I'm loving it. “It’s another opportunity to test my game to see where I’m at. We played twice before on clay so let's see on hard court. I have nothing to lose I’m just going to swing and give it my best and I can’t wait to play in front of you guys.”

Today, Raducanu relied on her precision and quick court coverage in rallying from 1-3 down in the first set and an 0-3 deficit in the second set.

Facing that first-set deficit, Raducanu began whipping the body serve on the deuce side and hit some fantastic running forehand to turn the tide. The 2021 US Open champion sped through five straight games building a one-set lead.

In the opening game of the second set, Raducanu spit up three double faults—all on the ad side—to gift the break to Anisimova. After that game, Raducanu asked the chair umpire to call for the trainer.

Dialing in her two-handed backhand, Anisimova banged out a second straight break for a 3-0 lead.

Then the trainer came on court working on Raducanu’s back, left leg and hip.

That break helped Raducanu reset and reel off three games in a row. Anisimova decelerated on a second serve, netting her seventh double fault as Raducanu leveled at 3-all.

A frustrated Anisimova was talking to her box between points. Then the former Roland Garros semifinalist ripped a running forehand winner to break for 4-3.

On this day, Anisimova sometimes rushed through points rather than persistently pounding away at the Raducanu backhand.





Showing terrific lateral movement, Raducanu saved a break point holding for 6-5.

In the 12th game, Anisimova was two points from forcing the tiebreaker at 30-love but Raducanu refused to yield. She reeled off four points in a row drawing Anisimova’s 44th unforced error to end it in one hour, 54 minutes.

 

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