Emma Radukanu believes she has “nothing to lose” as she prepares to face former world No.1 Iga Sviatek in the third round of the Australian Open.
Radukanu overcame back problems to beat big-seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-5 to reach the last 32 for the first time in Melbourne.
The 22-year-old player returned to the hard-court third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since winning the 2021 US Open.
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Radukanu beat Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-5 after overcoming back problems
“I love it. It’s another chance to test my game,” Radukanu said ahead of his clash with world No.2 Sviatek on Saturday.
“I think he (Sviatek) has already achieved so much and I think I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to give it my all and I can’t wait to play in front of you guys.
“He’s a top player, he’s been really consistent over the last few years. So it’s going to be a match for me where I feel like I don’t have a lot of expectations on the outside.
Radukanu celebrates with Anisimova after winning their second round match in Melbourne
“I think you always have that pressure that you put on yourself to do your best, that’s not going to change really, but it’s every match.
“I’m looking forward to going out there and testing my game against the best because at the end of the day, you play tennis and you live for these matches. It’s going to be an adrenaline rush.”
Radukanu stressed that she will take a relaxed approach to the preparations for the Pole, who wasted little time in beating Slovakian Rebeka Sramkova 6-0 6-2 on Thursday.
Sviatek will be the highest-ranked player Radukanu has ever faced at a Grand Slam, and he is yet to win three meetings with him.
“I think I’ll probably just take it easy (on Friday),” he said.
“I played a lot of tennis today and two days ago, so I don’t think I need to overdo it on the court. Just to let the body work a little bit and really recover.”
Sviatek is 59 places higher than Radukanu in the world rankings, but said: “There’s no point in looking at the rankings, especially when you have these great players who have already been through great tournaments and won some tournaments.
“You know they can play well.”
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