Emma Raducanu in action© AFP

A relentless Iga Swiatek stayed on course for a maiden Australian Open title as she powered into the second week with a statement victory over Emma Raducanu on Saturday. In battle of former US Open champions, Swiatek easily had the measure of Raducanu as she romped to a 6-1, 6-0 triumph, rattling off 11 consecutive games from 1-1 in a brutal display. Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek hit 24 winners to Raducanu’s nine on Rod Laver Arena. “I played a few shots that I thought after them, this is what I practise for to play these kind of shots, and that’s why I really enjoyed today’s match,” said Swiatek, who was at times untouchable, committing just 12 unforced errors.

“I felt really confident, so at the end I could push for even more.

“Having converted all these break points as well was important, so I’m really happy with today’s performance.”

It was the first time that Raducanu, the 2021 Flushing Meadows winner, had reached the third round in Melbourne.

Swiatek, the 2022 champion in New York, is looking to improve on a patchy record at the Australian Open, where she has only reached one semi-final in 2022.

She is on course to do that in some style, having dropped just 10 games in her three matches so far.

She put the 22-year-old Raducanu under severe pressure from the start, forcing the Briton to save break points in her first service game.

It was to be the only game Raducanu won as the 23-year-old Pole took control, her depth, power and precision enabling her to reel off five straight games to take the set in 31 minutes.

Raducanu was feeling the heat and dropped her serve again at the start of the second.

At 0-5 30-0 on the Swiatek serve Raducanu had a brief glimmer of avoiding a dreaded 6-0 “bagel”.

But Swiatek snuffed out the chance, levelled at 30-30 with a forehand winner and an unreturned serve completed the demolition job in just 1hr 10min.

Ranked 61, Raducanu’s best Slam effort since winning the US Open has been a lone fourth-round at Wimbledon.

She pulled out of her Australian Open warm-up event in Auckland with a back niggle and needed an injury timeout for a tight leg muscle in the previous round.

Swiatek’s path to a maiden Grand Slam final is opening up.

With the in-form Coco Gauff and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the other half of the draw a potential semi-final against Elena Rybakina looms as her biggest hurdle.

Swiatek has a straightforward-looking assignment next against either Eva Lys from Germany, ranked 128, or Romania’s world number 82 Jaqueline Christian for a place in the quarter-finals.

Iga Swiatek romped into a showdown with Emma Raducanu in early Australian Open second-round action Thursday ahead of Jannik Sinner stepping up the defence of his Melbourne Park title. Rising star Joao Fonseca will be on court again while Daniil Medvedev is looking to avoid becoming another top-10 player to be knocked out by a teenager when he faces Learner Tien. Second seed Swiatek raced past world number 49 Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 while Britain’s Raducanu reached the Melbourne third round for the first time by beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.

“I felt really solid today and it was a really efficient game,” said Swiatek. Her victory sets up a high-profile clash against the 2021 US Open winner for a place in the last 16.

Raducanu, seeking to climb up the rankings after an injury-wracked 2024, said she was looking forward to the challenge of playing against the five-time Grand Slam champion.

“It will be a very good match for me. It’s an opportunity to test my game, see where I’m at,” she said.

Italian world number one Sinner won his first-round clash in straight sets and will hope for another quick victory when he takes on Australian wildcard Tristan Schoolkate in the night session on Rod Laver Arena.

By contrast, Russian firebrand Medvedev seems to like winning the hard way.

Four of his seven matches in Melbourne went the full distance a year ago, including his defeat in the final to Sinner.

And he needed another marathon to beat the 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej on Tuesday in the first Grand Slam of the year.

Fifth seed Medvedev was 3-5 behind and on the brink of going two sets to one down against the Thai player when he saw red, slamming his racquet into the net camera repeatedly until they were both in bits.

Medvedev, who has lost three of the last four Australian Open finals, faces the up-and-coming American Tien, 19, who lost in the NextGen final to Fonseca.

The Brazilian sensation Fonseca has been tipped for the top after stunning ninth seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the first round.

“What can I say about it? Just incredible,” four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz said of Fonseca.

The 18-year-old Fonseca faces unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego for a place in the third round.

Australia’s main hope Alex de Minaur takes on American Tristan Boyer on Rod Laver.

In the women’s draw, eighth seed Emma Navarro had to dig deep to get past China’s Wang Xiyu 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and will face former world number two Ons Jabeur from Tunisia in the third round.

Jabeur enjoyed a straight-sets win over Colombian Camila Osorio.

Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina are also in second-round action.

Fourth seed Paolini faces Renata Zarazua of Mexico to round off the night on centre court.

Sixth seed Rybakina blew away 16-year-old Australian Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-1 in her opening match and faces American wildcard Iva Jovic.

Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca stunned ninth seed Andrey Rublev in a major Australian Open shock on Tuesday as racquet-smashing 2024 finalist Daniil Medvedev narrowly avoided the same fate. A rampant Taylor Fritz, veteran Gael Monfils and home hope Alex de Minaur also all progressed into round two at Melbourne Park. In the women’s draw, Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina were both emphatic winners on day three, with Emma Navarro and Emma Raducanu also victorious. But the day belonged to the 18-year-old Fonseca, who defeated Russia’s Rublev 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) on his Grand Slam debut.

Roared on by Brazilian fans decked out in yellow, Fonseca appeared totally unfazed as he set up a second-round meeting with Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.

“It’s the first time playing in a huge stadium,” he told an energised Margaret Court Arena.

“There are a lot of Brazilians here cheering for me and I enjoyed every moment, thanks a lot.”

Rublev’s fellow Russian Medvedev, a three-time losing finalist in Melbourne including a year ago to Jannik Sinner, was heavy favourite against Thailand’s 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej.

But in his first match of the season, the fifth seed nearly imploded in a fit of anger before finding some measure of calm.

“Second and third set I couldn’t touch the ball. I didn’t know what to do,” Medvedev said after finally winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

The 28-year-old mangled his racquet as he spectacularly lost his rag in the third set, slamming it into the net camera repeatedly until they both became a broken mess.

There was no such trouble for fourth seed Fritz as he blitzed fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 to launch his bid for a maiden Grand Slam crown.

“It’s never easy playing that first match in a Slam, there are some nerves, so I did a really good job shaking them off early and playing really solid,” said Fritz, who took just one hour and 46 minutes to dismantle his compatriot.

France’s Monfils battled through a five-set thriller to topple young countryman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and continue the 38-year-old’s late-career resurgence.

Crowd-pleaser Monfils became the oldest singles champion in ATP Tour history when he swept to victory at the Auckland Classic on Saturday.

He kept the momentum going against lethal-serving Mpetshi Perricard, 21, over a gruelling three hours and 46 minutes.

“I’m crazy happy,” said the popular Monfils.

“Everything is a win now, so, you know, no pressure on me.”

De Minaur, nicknamed “The Demon” by Australian fans and media, eased past Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.

‘Mind of its own’

Italy’s Paolini breezed past Wei Sijia 6-0, 6-4 in just 73 minutes to underline her title credentials.

The 29-year-old has said she got a taste for playing on the biggest stage after rocketing to world number four last year on the back of finishing runner-up at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“Maybe everything began from here last year,” Paolini, who reached the fourth round 12 months ago, said after hammering the world number 117 from China.

Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina dished out a harsh lesson of her own to 16-year-old Emerson Jones, winning 6-1, 6-1 in a ruthless statement of intent. 

The sixth seed from Kazakhstan demonstrated her pedigree as she manoeuvred the world junior number one from Australia to all parts of Margaret Court Arena.

The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu blew hot and cold in beating 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova from Russia, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2).

The 22-year-old Briton, who next faces American Amanda Anisimova, clocked up 15 double faults and said that her serve had “a mind of its own”.

Navarro, the eighth seed, beat fellow American Peyton Stearns in three sets.

The 13th seeding proved unlucky for Anna Kalinskaya, a quarter-finalist last year, who withdrew moments before her match against Australia’s Kimberly Birrell.

Kalinskaya was replaced by lucky loser Eva Lys of Germany, who took full advantage of her last-minute call-up by winning 6-2, 6-2.

Many of the top names including Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka will be back in action on Wednesday when the second round begins.

Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player, who faces a tough first round match against Russian 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” said the 22-year-old, recalling an incident on Friday.

“I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess.

“They flared up and swelled up really a lot. Someone was giving me this antiseptic spray, natural, to try to ease the bites.

“I didn’t want to take it. I didn’t want to spray it. I was, like, I’m just going to tough it out because I don’t want to risk it.”

Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek’s reputation was rocked last year when it was revealed she tested positive for a banned heart medication.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the violation was not intentional, and the Polish star escaped with a one-month sanction.

Her case followed defending Australian Open champion Sinner twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March.

He was also exonerated by the ITIA, which accepted his explanation that the drug entered his system when his physio used a spray containing it to treat a cut.

The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed his case, which will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on April 16-17.

“It’s obviously a concern on our mind,” said Raducanu about fears of inadvertently ingesting a contaminated substance.

“We’re all in the same boat. I think it’s just how we manage as best as we can the controllables.

“If something out of our control happens, then it’s going to be a bit of a struggle to try and prove.”

Emma Raducanu defended her controversial decision which ended Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career by withdrawing from their mixed doubles match on the eve of her fourth round singles defeat against Lulu Sun. Raducanu was scheduled to play with former Wimbledon champion Murray on Saturday, but opted to pull out of the tie due to a stiff wrist. The 2021 US Open champion wanted to avoid aggravating the problem prior to Sunday’s 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 loss to New Zealand qualifier Sun on Centre Court.

But the move provoked criticism as it shattered Murray’s hopes of one last appearance at the All England Club.

The two-time Wimbledon champion was unable to play the men’s singles as he was not fully recovered from surgery on spinal cyst, while he lost in the first round of the men’s doubles alongside brother Jamie.

Murray was said to be disappointed by Raducanu’s withdrawal, while the former world number one’s mother Judy described the move as “astonishing” on X, although she later claimed she was being sarcastic and understood the 21-year-old’s decision.

Asked if she regretted the move that ruined Murray’s Wimbledon farewell, Raducanu said: “Yesterday morning I just woke up with stiffness. I have to prioritise myself, my singles and my body.

“Of course, I didn’t want to take his last match away from him. But at the end of the day I think a lot of the players in a similar situation would have done the same thing, prioritising their body.

“I stand by the decision. Yeah, obviously it was a tough decision, though.”

Murray is now set to play for the last time in his career at the Paris Olympics, which start in later in July.

‘Put myself first’

“People are entitled to their opinions. Of course, there was a bit of a cloud around the decision,” she said.

“I think in this sport especially, as an individual, you have to make your own calls and prioritise yourself. Especially with my history, I just had to put myself first.

“Obviously disappointed because it’s his last match. But, yeah, what a champion. I think that hopefully he’ll play in the Olympics and have another farewell there.”

Responding to Murray’s mother, Raducanu added: “I haven’t seen her reaction, so I don’t know. Was she sarcastic? I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

Raducanu had come into Wimbledon in good form after a dismal period since her fairytale triumph as an 18-year-old at the US Open.

But she still needed a wildcard to enter the singles after falling out of the top 100, making it hard for her to imagine the eventual schedule conflict between the singles and mixed doubles.

“I think going into the tournament, I wasn’t expecting to make fourth round. So for me it was a no-brainer. I would have loved to have played with him,” she said.

“He didn’t ask me, ‘If you’re still in the singles, are you going to play?’ That was never a question to be answered.”

Ironically, Raducanu was troubled by other injuries in her loss to Sun, as back and ankle problems played a role in her last 16 exit.

Despite the frustrating end to her Wimbledon run, Raducanu has finally rediscovered her passion for the sport.

“Honestly, it just makes me more determined. I think I really put myself first in the last few weeks. Tennis is the only thing that is really occupying my time, my mind. It’s all I want to do really,” she said.

“I think that desire and fire is back. I just want to keep building on that.”

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz targets the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Sunday against a piano-loving Frenchman. His opponent, world number 16 Ugo Humbert is a passionate piano player. Emma Raducanu has British fans dreaming she can add the 2024 Wimbledon title to her 2021 US Open crown, while American Ben Shelton is following in his father’s footsteps. Men’s world number 1 Jannik Sinner also aims to reach the quarter-finals today. We look at three fourth-round matches to watch on the seventh day of action at the All England Club:

Alcaraz looks to stop the music

Carlos Alcaraz is chasing a fourth Grand Slam title and attempting to become just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.

The Spanish world number three twice trailed by a set before defeating Frances Tiafoe in the third round.

“I realise that I’m good player in the fifth set. I push the opponent just to be at his 100% physically and mentally, and play at his 100%. Sometimes for the other player it is difficult to keep at this kind of intensity in a fifth set,” said Alcaraz.

Humbert is in the last 16 for the second time, five years after also reaching the same stage.

Away from the courts, the left-handed French number one can be found playing the piano, a passion since he was five years old.

“I love music. I play a little bit of electric guitar, but I’m better at piano,” he said

“When you play piano, you are only with you. It’s great to have the time to be alone, to enjoy. In tennis, it’s the opposite.”

Raducanu turns back clock

Three years after her breakthrough summer when a run to the last 16 at Wimbledon was followed by an historic US Open title, Emma Raducanu is making headlines again.

The British star, now ranked 135 after a depressing run of injuries, indifferent form and questionable coaching changes, finds herself with a potentially clear run to the semi-finals.

On Sunday, the 21-year-old faces Lulu Sun, the first New Zealand woman in the fourth round since 1959.

If she gets through that, a quarter-final date with either Paula Badosa or Donna Vekic awaits.

Raducanu’s win over Maria Sakkari on Friday was just her second over a top 10 player — both have come in the last two weeks.

“I’m just trying to cherish every moment I have here,” said Raducanu.

The 23-year-old Sun, a 123rd-ranked qualifier, had only played and lost one Grand Slam match before this Wimbledon.

She is guaranteed to earn at least $340,000 for her efforts — more than she has made in her entire career so far.

Sun will also be headline news in her sleepy home town of Te Anau which she described as having “more sheep and deer than people”.

Family guy Shelton

Ben Shelton has made Wimbledon a family affair, reaching the fourth round 30 years after his father Bryan made the same stage.

“We’re back, big dog,” the 21-year-old American told his dad after seeing off Denis Shapovalov in the third round.

Back in 1994, Bryan Shelton stunned former champion Michael Stich in the first round before eventually being knocked out by Sweden’s Christian Bergstrom.

On Sunday, the 14th-ranked Shelton takes on world number one and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner for a place in the quarter-finals.

Shelton defeated the Italian in their first meeting at Shanghai in 2023 before Sinner came out on top in Vienna later that season and at Indian Wells earlier this year.

Andy Murray in tears after losing his Wimbledon first round men’s doubles match.© AFP

File image of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu.© X (Twitter)

Emma Raducanu has declined the opportunity to represent Great Britain in next month’s Paris Olympics. The 2021 US Open champion, who is still recovering from surgery on her wrists and ankle, was offered one of the two International Tennis Federation (ITF) places reserved for former Grand Slam champions. However, Raducanu has chosen to focus on her fitness and prepare for the upcoming British grass-court season. Raducanu’s current world ranking is too low to qualify outright for the Olympics, a consequence of her time away from the sport due to injury. The 21-year-old missed the French Open, which is played on the same Roland Garros clay courts that will host the Olympic tennis tournament, to ensure she is in peak condition for the British grass-court swing.

Iain Bates, head of Great Britain’s Olympic tennis team, shared insights into Raducanu’s decision. “I have had various conversations with Emma over the last couple of weeks and a slightly longer period where it’s very clear how much being part of a British team at an Olympics would mean to her,” Bates said.

“I think she feels this isn’t going to be the right timing for her for this summer. She’s hopefully got many Olympics ahead of her. I’m very comfortable with the decision that she’s made.”

Meanwhile, two-time Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray is set to compete in what might be his final tournament. The 37-year-old tennis icon, who won gold in London 2012 and Rio 2016, has been granted an ITF place for Paris 2024.

Earlier this year, Murray hinted that he did not expect to “play much past this summer,” adding a layer of poignancy to his participation in the upcoming Games.

Great Britain’s tennis nominations, announced at Queen’s Club on Sunday, include a mix of seasoned players and rising stars. Joining Murray in the men’s singles are Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper, and Dan Evans. Katie Boulter is the only British woman to have qualified by ranking.

In doubles action, Murray and Dan Evans are slated to pair up in the men’s doubles. Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski will also compete in the men’s doubles, leveraging their high world rankings. For the women’s doubles, Boulter and Heather Watson will team up, alongside another pair, Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden.

The Olympic tennis tournament, scheduled from July 27 to August 4 at Roland Garros, will feature five medal events: women’s singles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles. As the event draws closer, the ITF will finalize and announce the full entry list on July 4.

–IANS

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