Swiatek dominates Raducanu in Melbourne

Emma Raducanu made her debut appearance in the Australian Open third round.

Emma Raducanu from Britain faced one of the heaviest defeats of her career as second seed Iga Swiatek showed her dominance in a lopsided Australian Open third-round match.

Raducanu, aged 22, was overwhelmed 6-1 6-0 in a punishing afternoon on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Ranked 61st in the world, she lost serve five times in a match that lasted just one hour and 10 minutes.

This was the second time in her career that she was defeated with only a game to her name, following a 6-0 6-1 loss to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in Sydney three years ago.

"She played very well, but I also think that I didn't play very well. It's just not a great combination," Raducanu reflected.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, who has never reached the Melbourne semi-finals, played at a level that sent another strong message to her title contenders.

The 23-year-old from Poland has won all her opening three matches in straight sets, without dropping a service game.

"If a top player is playing perfect, it's going to be a difficult match already," Raducanu added.

The gap between Raducanu and Swiatek remains evident

While both Raducanu and Swiatek won Grand Slam titles as teenagers, their careers have taken very different trajectories since then.

Raducanu, who famously won the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier, initially struggled with the increased attention that followed. The demands of playing full-time on the WTA Tour also took their toll.

A series of injuries culminated in wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023, causing Raducanu to fall outside the top 300 in the world as she continues her recovery.

In contrast, Swiatek thrived after claiming the 2020 French Open. She has added three more titles at Roland Garros and a US Open victory in 2022.

Swiatek has defeated Raducanu in all three of their professional encounters, and the gap between them remains wide.

Raducanu struggled to cope with Swiatek's heavy topspin and athleticism, committing numerous errors from the baseline, especially on the backhand side, as the pressure mounted.

An early service loss proved fatal against a player like Swiatek, who seized the opportunity to secure her 78th career 'bagel' at the tour level.

"The scoreline was obviously quite harsh," Raducanu reflected.

"I'm very clear on what happened out there. If I'm not able to hold my service games or dictate, it affects the rest of my game.

"With my second serves, the way the points are structured from that point, and also on the return games, you feel a lot more pressure.

"That was probably a big aspect today."

There are positives for Raducanu to take despite her back issue

While the sting of this defeat will linger, Raducanu will look to find the positives from her career-best run at Melbourne Park.

The British player's preparations for the first Grand Slam of the year were disrupted by a back injury, which caused her to withdraw from a warm-up event in Auckland and left her without matches since mid-November.

Despite her serve "having a mind of its own" and committing 15 double faults, Raducanu showed resilience to defeat Russian 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round.

Her second-round match against Amanda Anisimova was an even tougher battle. Raducanu fought back from breaks down in both sets, requiring treatment twice, as she pushed "past pain" to claim another straight-set victory.

Although she appeared more subdued as the match slipped away, Raducanu seemed to move well but simply couldn’t match Swiatek’s level of play.

"There are no excuses with the back or physically," said Raducanu, who only began hitting again three weeks ago.

"Considering the preparation we had, we have to be grateful to be in this position."