Over the past few years of professional tennis, the sight of Iga Swiatek annihilating another poor, defenceless opponent has become as sure as the sun will rise. When Swiatek’s game is flowing and her mind is clear, the combined quality of her violent ball-striking, athleticism and unrelenting focus is so great that, at some point or another, she has rendered nearly all of the best players in the world spectators in their own matches.
On Saturday afternoon at Melbourne Park, it was Emma Raducanu’s turn to endure the unpleasant experience of entering the Swiatek bakery. Raducanu cut a lonely, solemn figure on one of the biggest tennis stadiums in the world in the face of a supreme Swiatek, who ploughed her way into the fourth round of the Australian Open by winning the final 11 games of her ruthless 6-1, 6-0 win.
“I think she played very well, but I also think that I didn’t play very well, so … I mean, it’s just not a great combination,” said Raducanu. “Of course, if a top player is playing perfect, it’s going to be a difficult match already. And yeah, I just want to work on certain things and make them better and more consistent.”
In her first tournament of the season, after back spasms significantly affected her pre-season preparation, Raducanu had arrived in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career with two gritty straight-sets wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, and Amanda Anisimova. Both times, the 22-year-old demonstrated her fighting spirit and court sense against an ultra-aggressive but inconsistent opponent, outmanoeuvring them to advance.
But there comes a time when no amount of fight can make up for the gulf in quality between two players. There was never any doubt that Swiatek, a five-time grand slam champion, was going to show up and produce a high level on Rod Laver Arena. The question was what exactly Raducanu could do to make her life difficult.
“I felt great,” said Swiatek. “I felt like the ball is listening to me. So just pretty loosened up. At the end I felt like all the tactics and everything I wanted to do, I was able to. So I just kept going.”
Against one of the very best players in the world in soaring form, there was little Raducanu could do. She does not have enough natural firepower to match Swiatek, whose wicked, heavy topspin forehand was even more difficult to deal with in such warm, lively conditions, and although she is a good athlete, she is not quite quick enough to pressure Swiatek with her defence.
Understandably, Raducanu looked out of ideas from early on. When she tried to force herself onto the front foot, injecting pace into her groundstrokes and aiming for the lines, her error count rose quickly. At the same time, when she tried to patiently build points, Swiatek completely outhit her. Her performance was simply a reflection of the limitations in her game compared to a player who is on the path to becoming an all-time great.
Although her tournament ended with a heavy defeat, Raducanu will leave Melbourne having made positive progress with two good wins over solid tennis players. She is clearly playing top 30-level tennis when she is actually able to compete and she has a solid base to work from. The real challenge is remaining fit enough to consistently build on her progress throughout the long season ahead.
“I think the biggest positive I would say is how I’ve approached every single day,” said Raducanu. “I think before the tournament, in tricky situations with Auckland and the back, how I handled myself going into the tournament not necessarily the most prepared. Then I’d say even how I kind of handled the match today, it’s quite different and I have to be proud of myself and give myself a pat on the back.
“I think one of my goals for this year is to just be consistent, ride with it. I think today is going to be a really good test in a sense, but also I’m going to look back and be like I learnt a lot from it and got a lot of feedback on what I need to do better.”
