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Iga Swiatek snubbed by French Open after Emma Raducanu win as Pole out of comfort zone
Iga Swiatek dropped just three games to Emma Raducanu when they met in the second round.
Iga Swiatek has been relegated away from her favourite court at the French Open. The Pole is the Queen of Court Philippe-Chatrier, winning four titles here – the last three in a row – and thrives on the main stage in Paris. But organisers have sent her to the second stadium, Court Suzanne-Lenglen, for the first time in two years at this tournament.
The No. 5 seed made a statement when she thrashed Emma Raducanu 6-1 6-2 on Wednesday, and the Brit later explained how tricky it was to play Swiatek on Chatrier. But Swiatek’s next opponent, Jaqueline Cristian, won’t have to deal with that in round three.
Four-time champion Swiatek got top billing on Chatrier for all seven of her matches on her way to the title in 2024. But she will return to Lenglen to face the world No. 60 on Friday afternoon.
Swiatek’s last appearance on the second court here was a short-lived one. She led Lesia Tsurenko 5-1 in the first set of their fourth-round match in 2023 when the Ukrainian retired.
Before that, the Pole had an outing on Lenglen for the second round in 2022, beating Alison Riske 6-0 6-2.
Swiatek has made it no secret that she loves playing in the 15,000-strong stadium at Roland Garros in the daytime – not in the night session, however – and Raducanu felt the full wrath of the former No. 1 on the main showcourt.
Ahead of Raducanu’s second-round meeting with Swiatek, she complained that lower-ranked players didn’t get opportunities to practice on Chatrier and came into those big matches feeling underprepared.
And she felt the weight of the occasion when they met on Wednesday. “It was the first time playing a match on that court,” the Brit said.
“And it’s also different when it’s filled and it’s got everything around. You do feel like it is a big court. And it’s different and it’s new for me. It’s a surrounding that she’s obviously very comfortable with and she’s played in it a lot of times.
“I think that did emphasise me feeling a bit uncomfortable. But it’s a good experience for if I ever play on that court again.”
However, when she faces Cristian for the first time, Swiatek will be the one adjusting to a court on which she is less comfortable.
The world No. 5 came into the French Open less prepared than in recent years. She hasn’t reached a final at any tournament since claiming the crown here 12 months ago, and she suffered a shock third-round exit in Rome earlier this month.
After demolishing Raducanu, Swiatek claimed that she still couldn’t get too comfortable despite taking extra confidence from being back at her favourite tournament.
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Express Sport brings you the latest tennis news from the Paris Masters.
We’re reaching the business end of the Paris Masters, as eight players become four in the French capital. Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy after Carlos Alcaraz was dumped out by Cameron Norrie in the Spaniard’s opening match. Norrie was then beaten by Valentin Vacherot, whose amazing 10-match winning streak at Masters 1000 level came to an end when he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Canadian star Auger-Aliassime will face Alexander Bublik in the semis. Bublik defeated Alex de Minaur, who is among those to have already qualified for the year-end ATP Finals. Sinner is through to his first Paris Masters semi-final after beating Ben Shelton. He’ll face defending champion Alexander Zverev, who survived a tough match against Daniil Medvedev.
Novak Djokovic is not involved in the Paris Masters, having decided to skip the event for the second year in a row, but he has learned his fate in the draw of next week’s ATP 250 in Athens. And over in Riyadh, the WTA Finals are about to get underway.
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