Iga Swiatek has charged to the third round of the Australian Open with a dominant victory over Rebecca Sramkova.
Swiatek opened up Rod Laver Arena on day five of the 2025 Australian Open, dropping just two games in her match against the Slovakian.
The world number two is used to playing on the biggest courts, but Swiatek was actually on the John Cain Arena for her first round match.
After making a positive start to the Australian Open this year, Swiatek has set up an eye-catching third round meeting with former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Iga Swiatek praises Emma Raducanu ahead of Australian Open third round match
Raducanu spoke to Andy Murray at the Australian Open after beating Amanda Anisimova in her second round match at the Australian Open.
This means that the Brit will play in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time, but Swiatek has beaten Raducanu in their three previous meetings.
Despite having the upper hand in the head-to-head, Swiatek appeared to be unaware of how many times she had played Raducanu when asked about their upcoming match.
“Well, you know more than me because I thought we played two times, but doesn’t matter,” Swiatek said in her second round Australian Open press conference. “Well, for sure it’s going to be a tough one. Emma can play great tennis. We all know that.
“So, yeah, I’ll just prepare as before any other match. For sure Wim [Fissette] will watch these matches that we played, because I don’t know if he saw them before since we weren’t working together yet.
But, yeah, I’ll just… I don’t know. I’ll prepare tomorrow, and I’ll be ready (smiling).”
Last year, Raducanu rose from outside the top 300 to inside the top 60 following surgeries to both wrists and her left ankle.
This is something that she praised herself for, with Raducanu playing only 13 tournaments in 2024.
Raducanu is currently the world number 61, but Swiatek is not taking too much notice of the differential between their rankings.
“I mean, honestly there’s no point to look at rankings, especially when you have these great players that already, you know, have been through great tournaments and won some tournaments,” continued Swiatek.
“You know that they can play well. Maybe they’re not consistent to have the ranking, but still, you need to be on your toes and ready because you don’t know what they’ll show this week. So, no, I don’t look at rankings at all.”
What has Emma Raducanu said ahead of the match with Iga Swiatek?
It appears that Raducanu has also forgotten about one of her matches with Swiatek, having only mentioned their two previous meetings on clay in her on-court interview.
Swiatek also beat Raducanu at Indian Wells in 2023, in what was her most emphatic victory in the head-to-head after dropping only four games.
That being said, Raducanu appears to be looking forward to playing the five-time major winner once again.
“It’ll be a good match for me. Any match I can play against these top opponents.. I’m loving it,” said Raducanu. “It’s an opportunity to test my game and see where I’m at.
“We played twice before on clay. Let’s see on hard court. She’s achieved so much already. Going into it, I have nothing to lose. I’m just gonna swing. I’m gonna give it my best. I can’t wait to play in front of you guys.”
Swiatek lost in the third round of the Australian Open last year, and will want to avoid another upset when she plays Raducanu on Saturday January 18 in Melbourne.
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