Emma Raducanu has not yet lived up to the immense potential that saw her waltz to the US Open title in 2021, but the Briton’s quality in New York City that year was something else.
While it was always going to be tough to back up that stunning Grand Slam triumph, Raducanu has shown since, with fleeting efforts at Wimbledon in particular, that the talent is merely dormant and it’s only a matter of time before it gets released again.
The Briton, now 22, gets another chance to showcase her wares in the Australian Open on Saturday morning when she takes on second seed Iga Swiatek.
Polish ace Swiatek, of course, was a long-time world number one before Aryna Sabalenka leapfrogged her at the top of the rankings. While Swiatek is quite simply a different level on clay, on hard courts there is often much more opportunity for an able opponent to strut her stuff against her.
There are few more able or intelligent players on the women’s tour than Raducanu and it may just be worth punters backing the Briton to upset the odds.
Emma Raducanu to win - 6/1
Swiatek made light work of Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 6-0 6-2 in her latest start - and that followed a 6-3 6-4 over a better player in Katerina Siniakova in her opener - but the second seed may still have her work cut out if Raducanu is playing anywhere near her peak Down Under.
It’s not often punters get the chance to back a world-class player, admittedly against another world-class player, at odds as big as 6/1. But that’s the price that Raducanu is to upset five-time Grand Slam singles heroine Swiatek and there will be many worse 6/1 chances than the sublimely talented Briton, so the advice is to get involved.
Four of Swiatek’s five major singles titles have come on clay, and while she is a serial winner on hard courts too, the plain fact is that things are nowhere near as cut and dried for her on fast courts as they are on slow ones.
Add to the mix the fact that Raducanu, who was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year in a cakewalk victory in the wake of her Flushing Meadows triumph, has already seen off high-quality performers in Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova and there’s more than a sniff of anticipation in the air that maybe this is a viable time for the young Briton’s second coming.
Now there’s a lot of difference with regard to ruling the roost on hard courts Down Under as opposed to in the Big Apple. But if Raducanu can manage the heat at Melbourne Park - it’s due to rise to 33 degrees Celsius in the next day or two - then it’s just possible that her groundstrokes, so brilliant in the year’s final Slam 40 months ago, could once again do the talking but this time in the southern hemisphere.
Emma Raducanu +5.5 games handicap - 11/10
Let’s not forget that back in the US Open in 2021, Raducanu came all the way through qualifying to lift the trophy without dropping a set. So if by any chance she is in title-chasing mode again and ready to go in Melbourne, then a date with Swiatek should not hold that many fears.
True, Swiatek has won all three of their previous meetings and all six of the sets the pair have contested. But Raducanu has twice given the Warsaw ace decent matches on clay, so there is definitely some hope for the outsider in their fourth meeting on Saturday morning.
Having an interest on the outsider at a massive price is difficult to quibble with, but punters can definitely get involved in more earnest fashion on Raducanu in receipt of a 5.5-game handicap start at 11/10.
Another option could be to back the Brit to win over 6.5 games at a decent-looking 4/5.
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Emma Raducanu - 6/1
Iga Swiatek - 1/10
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.