Iga Swiatek has recognized Emma Raducanu’s game worthy of brining her rival to the top on the women’s side of the tour but warned the 2021 US Open champion that the path will not be easy.
The Pole faced the Brit in the final 8 of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in what was a well fought match as defeated her opponent 7-6(7-2), 6-3 in just over two hours.
With this victory the defending champion who is attempting a ‘threepeat’ at the event would next play Elena Rybakina while Raducanu seems to have taken another step on her return to the tour.
Having struggled since her US Open fairytale run in 2021, Raducanu has compiled some good performances in recent weeks as she notched victories in both her rubbers during Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers over France last week. She then claimed victories against the home favorite and former WTA #1 Angelique Kerber and Linda Noskova in the opening two rounds in Stuttgart.
The 21-year-old is projected to climb 82 places in the WTA ranks to #221 as she starts to regain the glory she achieved in 2021.
Swiatek is backing her rival to find he lost mojo but thinks that she will need to be consistent to rise back into the top of the women’s game.
“It was a pretty intense match,” the Pole said. “I was happy that I was able to keep the intensity even though we played some tough games for like two hours.
“It wasn’t easy. I had a lot of break points which I didn’t convert so still I’m happy that I could finish it with a better score in the second set than in the first.
“There are a lot of factors coming in if you want to stay consistently at the top but I hope [Raducanu] will be able to do it. For sure she has the game but it’s not easy.”
The first set lasted over an hour with the Brit breaking in the opening game of the match before the reigning world No. 1 hit back in game two. After no further breaks, Swiatek forced the tie-breaker and did good job to won it as she admitted that it was about being holding her nerves at that moment.
“She started playing at the beginning pretty loose, like she had nothing to lose, and I totally get that. Sometimes it is like that,” the world No 1, who leads her head-to-head record against Raducanu 3-0 after Friday’s win, said.
“But I knew I was kind of questioning if she’s going to be able to keep the same intensity throughout the whole match.
“It wasn’t about service games or return games. I was just waiting for my chances to break back and I was sure that I’m going to get them.”