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Match Details
Fixture: (PR) Emma Raducanu vs Wang Yafan
Date: January 18, 2024
Tournament: Australian Open 2024
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
Prize Money: A$86,500,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Sports & Sony Liv | Canada - TSN & RDS
Emma Raducanu vs Wang Yafan preview
2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu will face Wang Yafan in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open on Thursday.
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Raducanu returned to Grand Slam action after a year's absence in Melbourne and faced Shelby Rogers, who's on the comeback trail too, in the first round. A single break of serve in her favor proved to be more than enough for the young Brit to capture the first set.
Raducanu was in no mood to slow down after that and played even better in the second set. She broke Rogers' serve twice to score a 6-3, 6-2 victory and maintained her record of always getting past the first hurdle here intact.
Wang began her campaign Down Under against 22nd seed Sorana Cirstea. The Chinese was outplayed from the very first point of the opening set as she lost the set without claiming a single game.
It looked like Wang was on course for an early exit as she fell behind 3-0 in the second set. Almost on the verge of defeat, she raised her level and turned the tables on Cirstea to take the set.
Wang started the third set by securing a break of serve, but Cirstea nabbed the next couple of games to get back on serve. The Chinese then ran away with the match as she swept the next five games to complete a 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 comeback win.
Emma Raducanu vs Wang Yafan head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Emma Raducanu vs Wang Yafan odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Emma Raducanu vs Wang Yafan prediction
Raducanu adjusted to the windy conditions quite well to oust Rogers. The Brit's movement looked quite good and she even incorporated a lot of sliced shots too. Her forehand was a bit up and down, but it was enough to get the job done.
Wang had one foot out of the door, but her resilience shone through in her comeback win over Cirstea. To fight back from 6-0, 3-0 down is not an easy task, but the 29-year-old managed to do it.
Both are now eyeing a spot in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time. While Raducanu has reached that stage at other Majors - Wimbledon and the US Open, Wang hasn't been beyond the second round at this level.
However, Wang has knocked out quite a few big names in the past and cannot be taken lightly. Raducanu is still in the early stages of a comeback following an injury hiatus. But she has shown plenty of promise already and if she continues to play like this, the Brit has a great chance of moving forward.
Pick: Emma Raducanu to win in three sets.
