Over the past few years, the sight of Iga Swiatek annihilating another poor, defenceless opponent has become as sure as the sun will rise. When her 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 spectators in their own matches.
It was Emma Raducanu’s turn to endure the unpleasant experience of entering the Swiatek bakery on Saturday. She cut a lonely, solemn figure on the Rod Laver Arena, one of the biggest tennis stadiums in the world, in the face of a supreme Swiatek, who ploughed her way into the fourth round by winning the final 11 games in a ruthless 6-1, 6-0 win.
“She played very well, but I didn’t play very well … 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. I just want to work on certain things and make them better and more consistent.”
In her first tournament of the year, after back spasms significantly affected her pre-season preparation, Raducanu had made the third round of the Australian Open for the first time 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. There was never a doubt Swiatek, a five-time grand slam champion, was going to show up and produce a high level. 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. All the tactics and everything I wanted to do, I was able to. So I just kept going.”
Against one of the very best 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 put pressure on Swiatek with her defence.
Understandably, Raducanu looked out of ideas from early on. When she tried to force herself on to 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. The performance was simply a reflection of the limitations in her game compared with a player who is on the path to becoming an all-time great.
Although her tournament ended with a heavy defeat, Raducanu leaves having made progress with two good wins over solid opponents. She is clearly playing top 30-level tennis when she is 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.
“The biggest positive I would say is how I’ve approached every single day,” she said. “Before the tournament, in tricky situations with [pulling out of] Auckland and the back, how I handled myself going into the tournament not necessarily the most prepared. Then I’d say even how I handled the match, it’s quite different and I have to be proud of myself and give myself a pat on the back.
“One of my goals for this year is to just be consistent, ride with it. Today is going to be a really good test, but also I’m going to look back and be like I learned a lot from it and got a lot of feedback on what I need to do better.”
