Emma Raducanu is preparing for the chance to face Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon.
The Brit faced the challenge defeating the resurgent former champion Marketa Vondrousova in round two.
But Raducanu passed that test with flying colours and snapped the Czech player’s six match win streak with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Now she will face her toughest test of the year so far: defeating the World number one Aryna Sabalenka at a Grand Slam.
John Isner thinks Emma Raducanu has little chance of beating Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon
Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal are the last remaining British players in the Wimbledon draw.
Both players has reached this stage without dropping a set. While Kartal will go up against fellow unseeded player Diane Parry in the next round, Raducanu will take on three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka.
The world number one is on a mission to lift the Wimbledon title for the first time and it will take an excellent performance to end her quest for a fourth major.
Assessing the match on the Nothing Major Podcast, former semi-finalist at the All-England Club John Isner thinks there is very little Raducanu can do to defeat Sabalenka in Friday’s third round encounter.
“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.”
Has Emma Raducanu beaten Aryna Sabalenka before?
Raducanu and Sabalenka have played each other on just one previous occasion. That took place at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters when the Belarusian claimed a hard-fought 6-3, 7-5 victory in the Californian sunshine.
Friday’s encounter at Wimbledon will mark their first meeting on grass, and Raducanu is excited by the challenge of playing the WTA’s top-ranked player on home soil.
“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.”
