“I was in exam hall while she was on tour,” Emma Raducanu rejects similarities in growth with Iga Swiatek
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Emma Raducanu and Iga Swiatek
There are a lot of similarities between World No.1 Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Emma Raducanu. But the British youngster does not feel the same way. She believes that both of them have had their own set of struggles and their journey have been very different till this stage. One can draw parallels between Swiatek’s sudden rise after winning the 2020 French Open with Raducanu’s sensational US Open triumph from being a qualifier last year.
But Raducanu feels that the Pole was way too experienced than her when she bagged the French Open title a couple of years back. It is surprising to know that Friday’s quarterfinal clash between the two players was Raducanu’s first meeting against a top 10 player in her short career despite her heroics at the US Open. The WTA Stuttgart Open is also her first clay court tournament on tour and it speaks volumes about her inexperience and makes her heroics in New York last year even greater.
Although Iga Swiatek won the quarterfinal clash 6-4, 6-4 i a match that had some moments for Raducanu aswell, this can be the start of a new rivalry engaging two young and blossoming talents in the women’s tennis circuit. However for now Swiatek is simply dominating every player she is facing. She is yet to drop a set in the last 13 matches she has played and this win over Raducanu is her 21st consecutive win. Therefore the World No.1 crown really looks good on her.
“Iga Swiatek has been on the tour for longer,” Emma Raducanu
Speaking about the comparisons in their journey and the similarities, Raducanu immediately disagreed as she feels that the pole started her career very early and while winning the French Open in 2020 she had some experience under her belt, unlike the American who is experiencing her first tour this year currently. “I wouldn’t say so to be honest,” she told Eurosport when asked if their breakthroughs were similar. “Iga had been playing on the tour a lot longer [when she won the French Open]. I feel she had a lot more experience in matches and had been playing full-time for a lot longer whereas I was in exam halls until last summer.“
Raducanu added how she was giving her exams while Swiatek was already on tour. She highlighted how this year is her first WTA tour and this is the first time she is experiencing so much action week in and week out. “I didn’t really play many competitions. This is my first full year where I’m playing tournaments in back-to-back weeks. It’s all a learning curve for me but we’re both young and hopefully, we’ll be playing again in the future,” she added.
The WTA Stuttgart Open quarterfinals was her second entry to the last eight that she has achieved since winning the US Open despite persisting injury problems, Emma Raducanu has been brilliant when she has been completely fit. She showed glimpses of her best play in Stuttgart and with more experience, she can be someone who can challenge the titles and feature in the big clashes. Therefore her defeat against the World No.1 Swiatek must be a learning curve for her as it is only the first clay-court event where she has featured on tour.
Also Read: “I’m going with the flow,” World No.1 Iga Swiatek reacts after her triumph over Emma Raducanu
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Atrayo Bhattacharya
(193 Articles Published)