"Besides having the crowd on her side": John Isner sees Emma Raducanu having little chance of troubling Aryna Sabalenka
WTA
Emma Raducanu will face Aryna Sabalenka in the main tie on Friday evening on Centre Court but John Isner sees her as having very little chance of dominating the tie against the World No.1 and reaching the next round at Wimbledon.
While the tournament has been shocks galore, Isner sees Sabalenka as having further reaching tasks that will mean she doesn't win the title. Elena Rybakina in particular has been touted in some circles including by Martina Navratilova as a potential champion.
Raducanu has faced Sabalenka only once back at Indian Wells two years ago but while the Brit has massively improved and isn't injured anymore, the power game of the World No.1 is one that troubles the biggest names no mind Raducanu who by her own admission wasn't expecting a lot from SW19.
But she has new belief and a smile on her face from working with Mark Petchey. The new partnership that is paying dividends. Often though as evidenced by when she faces Iga Swiatek, the game of the big names is a different situation for the former US Open champion.
“How is Emma going to affect Sabalenka? Besides having the crowd on her side, what can she do?,” Isner asked. “Sabalenka is going to have to have an off day and be spraying balls everywhere.
“Maybe if it’s crazy windy like it was at the Roland Garros final but you can’t see Raducanu troubling her too much. Having said that, I think there are a lot of players who could take the title from her.”
Raducanu herself knows the task in hand ahead of her but is relishing it as she again takes Centre Stage on Centre Court aiming to cause a big upset.
“You can’t really give ‘nothing balls’ to her. I’m going to have to be aggressive but pick my moments,” Raducanu said.
“I don’t think I’m going to go out there and out-power her, like, size-wise and power-wise. I think I’m going to have to try and be creative, as well.
“As to it being unlucky, you want to play the best. You are going to have to play them at some point if you want to win one of these tournaments.
“Even though it’s early in the tournament, I’m looking forward to the opportunity. For the rest of the evening I’m going to enjoy that one because I think it was really special.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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