Chris Evert tells Emma Raducanu what she must ‘take advantage’ of to beat Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros

Chris Evert, ahead of Emma Raducanu’s French Open clash with Iga Swiatek today, has provided some advice for the Brit.

After all, she is the huge underdog, despite heading into this event in solid form.

Nobody faces the world number five at Roland Garros and is expected to win though, given she is a four-time winner and the defending champion.

Her form may be patchy, but few can argue with what she has accomplished in the French capital.

Evert clearly thinks Emma Raducanu needs all the help she can get.

Chris Evert offers Emma Raducanu advice on how to beat Iga Swiatek

Laura Robson looked to gain the insight of the 18-time Grand Slam champion, who first assessed the surface: ’I think you like to be familiar with the clay court, I think you like to feel comfortable. I think you’d have to ask her. Some players can get comfortable after three, four, five matches. Some players have to play three, four, five weeks.

‘It’s a whole new different moving situation, the sliding. The way you have to pick up your feet, the way the bounces are higher than a hard court or grass court. I think it does well if you have a few weeks ahead of time to make that adjustment.

Evert then sought to offer some advice to the 22-year-old, who goes into today’s game as the huge underdog: ‘The thing I think about Emma right now is that she’s got nothing to lose. She can’t be stressed out in this match. She can’t play tight tennis. She’s got to go out there and just play relax, loose tennis, knowing that all the pressure is on Iga.

‘She has to understand that, on the other side of the net, Iga has not had a great 12 months. She hasn’t won a tournament, we’ve seen her get flustered, we’ve seen her lose belief in her game. This isn’t the same Iga that has dominated Roland Garros in previous years. Take advantage of that a little bit and note the body language of Iga.

‘Again, I just think Emma can just go out there, she’s playing well, her groundies look good. She’s got to keep up the pace with Iga and not let Iga dominate the rallies, try to dictate the rallies right from the first shot. If she does that, just stay in the match with her.’

Emma Raducanu shared a fitness update after taking a medical timeout in her first-round match, and the hope is that she is healthy and fully prepared to compete.

Emma Raducanu’s head-to-head record vs Iga Swiatek

Although Swiatek’s predilection for the French Open is the obvious reason for Raducanu to be concerned, her head-to-head record with the Polish player should only add to such worry.

After all, in their four meetings, the Brit has failed to win. In fact, she has failed to even take a set from the former world number one.

Iga Swiatek v Emma Raducanu H2H record

That’s not to suggest that she hasn’t played well, with both of their clay-court meetings showing promising signs for Raducanu.

She lost 6-4, 6-4 in Stuttgart in 2022, and then took Swiatek to a tiebreak in the first set of their meeting at the same event last year.

On the clay, the gap is not as wide as some might think, and the Brit will hope to prove that later today.