Emma Raducanu (Image: Getty)
Emma Raducanu is relishing her return to the big stage when she takes on world No.2 in a blockbuster clash at the .
The British No.2 played through the pain – and needed a medical timeout for her back – before beating Amanda Anisova to reach the third round here for the first time.
As she left the Kia Arena, she wrote on the TV camera: “Fourth time lucky”.
Her best performance Down Under is also the furthest she has gone in an overseas Grand Slam since her 2021 US Open triumph.
And the world No.61’s reward is facing five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek on a showcourt at Melbourne Park.
Raducanu, who shot to worldwide fame by winning 10 matches in New York, said: “I really relish the big occasion. I love the big stadiums, the big matches. It’s something that I just really enjoy doing.
“And it’s so nice to also just go a round further than I did in the last three years that I played here.
“Australia is somewhere where I really like playing. I like the conditions, I like the crowd and the support here has been amazing, with a lot of Union Jacks in the crowd as well.
Emma Raducanu is loving the support in Melbourne (Image: Getty)
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“It’ll be a very good match for me, another opportunity to test my game. I am big-time excited about being the underdog.
“I’m going to enjoy going out there and playing Iga. She was No.1 for so long. I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to swing. It’s a match that I’m looking forward to.”
Swiatek has beaten Raducanu in all three of their matches without dropping a set, the last time on the clay in Stuttgart last year.
“For sure it’s going to be a tough one,” said the No.2 seed. “Emma can play great tennis. We all know that.”
Raducanu had entered the first Grand Slam event of the season without playing a warm-up match after missing three weeks of training following a back spasm before Christmas.
And she called a medical timeout for treatment on the nagging injury when trailing 0-3 in the second before recovering to beat her friend and fellow teenage prodigy 6-3 7-5.
Raducanu later revealed she asked for painkillers to get through the match – and could still feel her back “a little bit” in her post-match press conference.
“I felt it pretty much like quite early in the match in the first set, but I was trying not to show anything, of course,” she said.
“Then I asked for some medication, but they don’t give you that without assessing you. The treatment is very difficult because you don’t have much time at all, so it’s hard to really make an impact. You just kind of have to get on with it. I was able to push past some pain today. I’ve played a lot of tennis today and two days ago I still have some time before my next match.”
Raducanu cut her double fault count from 15 in the last round – and did not seem too concerned about her service action during the match. “Sometimes it is better to laugh it off than get stressed about it,” she smiled.