Raducanu’s Upbeat Year Offers Another Chance To Test Herself Against The Best

At nan commencement of a caller play successful January 2022, Emma Raducanu’sfirst afloat twelvemonth connected nan WTA tour, she was swimming successful doubt. Not only was she trying to return her adjacent steps guardant aft a life-changing summer, her off-season had been ravaged by Covid-19, which forced her disconnected nan tribunal for weeks successful December. In her first lucifer of nan season, she recovered herself up against Elena Rybakina successful Sydney. She near nan tribunal having mislaid 6-0, 6-1.

That first brushwood betwixt nan players was a bully practice of nan myriad difficulties Raducanu would navigate complete nan adjacent fewer years: nan unit from her abrupt rise, her underpowered crippled against nan champion players successful nan world and nan truth that location was ever different beingness rumor astir nan corner.

On nan eve of different gathering betwixt nan Briton and Kazakhstani, nan British No 1’s shape underscores nan quiet, accordant advancement she has yet made successful caller months. Raducanu has mislaid conscionable six games successful her first 2 matches, against Ena Shibahara and Janice Tjen, and is playing value tennis, serving confidently and pressuring her opponents by taking nan shot early and forcing herself wrong nan baseline.

However, her 2 opponents were besides qualifiers who person ne'er surgery nan apical 100. Rybakina, nan 2022 Wimbledon champion, represents an tremendous measurement up successful value and class. The 26-year-old is nan champion server successful nan women’s game, starring nan circuit successful work games won, work points won and aces. She backs up her serving prowess pinch immoderate of nan cleanest groundstrokes successful nan sport, generating specified easy gait disconnected some sides. As she showed pinch her demolition of Aryna Sabalenka 2 weeks agone successful Cincinnati, cipher is safe from being deed disconnected nan tribunal erstwhile Rybakina is successful afloat flow.

Raducanu’s determination to prosecute Francisco Roig was rooted successful trying to amended her crippled successful bid to beryllium amended equipped to antagonistic nan elite players and biggest shot strikers. Now she will person different chance to measurement her progress. “I do want to spot really my crippled suits and fits against nan top,” said Raducanu. “I still deliberation I person a agelong measurement to go, but I deliberation I person been making steps towards getting person and narrowing that gap. I deliberation I person to return assurance from my matches against Aryna successful Cincy and Wimby.”

Cameron Norrie will play Novak Djokovic successful a expansive slam for nan 2nd clip this year. Photograph: Ella Ling/Shutterstock

As Raducanu tackles 1 of nan toughest opponents successful her draw, Cameron Norrie finds himself up against nan top subordinate successful immoderate men’s tie that has ever existed. Just a fewer months aft their gathering successful nan 4th information of nan French Open, Norrie will look disconnected against Novak Djokovic for a seventh time.

This has been an eventful summertime for Norrie, who returned to his favourite aboveground during nan North American difficult tribunal plaything hopeful that his fantabulous quarter-final tally astatine Wimbledon would propel him to greater heights but he alternatively many times struggled pinch his beingness information successful nan heat. While his durability has agelong been 1 of his biggest assets, for erstwhile it was a problem.

Norrie addressed those issues pinch a reliable pre-US Open training artifact successful nan sadistic power astatine Texas Christian University, his alma mater, and he has performed good successful New York. At nan extremity of a tense, attritional four-hour lucifer against Francisco Comesaña connected Wednesday, he managed his nerves good and recovered a measurement to adjacent retired nan lucifer successful 4 sets to scope nan 3rd round.

Norrie has mislaid each of his six meetings pinch Djokovic, winning only 2 sets, and their matches person shown that he simply does not person nan firepower to problem nan Serb erstwhile he is astatine his best. However, he should caput into this match-up believing this is his champion opportunity to push Djokovic to nan limit.

“I will opportunity nan chances of getting amended arsenic nan years get on, I would not opportunity by much,” said Norrie. ”But nan level he brings, nan competitiveness he brings is crazy. Every clip I’ve played him, he’s changing his strategies and making it really difficult for maine to play. So I’m conscionable fresh for anything. Him to play unreal. Him to play not great. Him to beryllium stopping nan lucifer for thing and past playing really good. I deliberation he’s so, truthful bully astatine competing and tactics. He’s amazing. So I’m going to person to beryllium fresh for thing and I want to conscionable hit him pinch tennis and physicality.”

This US Open is Djokovic’s first tourney since Wimbledon aft opting to prioritise his clip pinch his family and his suboptimal mentation has intelligibly played a portion successful his 2 unimpressive performances arsenic he closed retired Learner Tien and Zachary Svajda successful 4 sets. Djokovic struggled physically successful his first information lucifer against Tien, who many times dragged him into long, attritional exchanges. While Norrie will effort to utilization nan 38-year-old’s waning physicality moreover much efficaciously than those earlier him, it remains to beryllium seen if Djokovic will let him to get close.