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.
