Emma Raducanu will have to beat two Wimbledon champions, including the reigning Iga Swiatek, if she is just to progress to the Korea Open semi-finals. The Brit, who took a wildcard to enter the event, faces Romanian star Jaqueline Cristian in the first round.
Should Raducanu, who skipped Team GB duties at the Billie Jean King Cup to compete in Asia, get past Cristian. She will be met in the second round by Barbora Krejcikova, who was the winner in SW19 last year and is also a French Open champion.
The British No. 1 is projected to face Swiatek in the quarter-finals, having been paired in the top half with the Polish star, who has been given a bye in the first round as the top seed.
Swiatek joins the rest of the top four seeds, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Clara Tauson and Daria Kasatkina in the second round.
Meanwhile, in the top half of the draw alongside Raducanu, Swiatek and Krejcikova, are tough opponents Sofia Kenin, Maya Joint, Eva Lys and Ashlyn Kreuger.
Their match on Monday will be Raducanu’s first-ever against Cristian, who recently reached the third round of the US Open before losing to tournament runner-up Amanda Anisimova in three sets. She had already beaten Americans Danielle Collins and Krueger.
To be the first to receive the latest tennis news, join our WhatsApp community or newsletter
Raducanu has retired on both of her visits to the Seoul tournament through injury. Last year she reached the quarter-finals but had to leave the court after the first set, received treatment on her foot, and never returned against Kasatkina.
The 22-year-old reached the semi-finals in 2022 but a left glute issue forced her to retire in the deciding set against Jelena Ostapenko.
Much has been made of Raducanu’s decision to snub Team GB duties to focus on her singles campaign, but her former coach Mark Petchey has defended the choice.
“There’s always two sides to everything,” he told BetVictor. It’s very easy to come down on the side that you should want to represent your country.
“To be fair to Emma, when you look back at what she achieved on the clay against France, she proved that when she’s put up against it, she can A, produce the goods and B does want to play. I don’t think you can blame Emma for a schedule that makes zero sense.”
The opposite side to the draw of Raducanu and Swiatek features Roland Garros hero Lois Boisson, Diana Shnaider and defending champion Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk