Emma Raducanu will take on five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, who overcame more injury problems to beat her in the second round of the Australian Open Amanda Anisimova.

The former U.S. Open champion’s match preparations were disrupted by back spasms and she received treatment for a lower back problem in the second set.

There were five more double faults in the match, a significant improvement from the 15 she had in her first-round victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova, but that didn’t stop her here He defeated the big-name players 6-3 7-5 and entered the top 32 for the first time. -Hit American Anisimova.

Now she will challenge world No. 2 Swiatek for the fourth time, against whom she has yet to win a set.

“This is a Grand Slam I love playing in, so getting to the second round means a lot to me,” Raducanu said.

“Whenever you play against friends it’s very difficult and it adds another dimension to the game but it’s not necessarily enjoyable. I think I did a good job. I knew I couldn’t do that in the second set disappear.”

She continued: “It was a tricky match today, a bit windy and sunny on one side. There were some moments on serve from both sides. The way I managed to regroup at the end of the first set, I’m really proud of.

“It’s difficult. I haven’t competed for a long time. The way I play is very athletic and I use my body a lot.

“I feel it a little bit, but I’m glad I have a little bit of time to recover before the next game. I’m loving it. It’s another opportunity to test my game. I think obviously she (Swiatek) has accomplished so much already I think I have nothing to lose, I will give it my all and I can’t wait to play in front of you.”

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Raducanu and Anisimova are friends off the court and have similarities in their tennis stories, with the American reaching the fourth round for the first time here and reaching the French Open quarterfinals at age 17.

Anisimova has some big wins at Grand Slams, especially in Melbourne, and is one of the purest natural forwards on the tour.

That was evident when the U.S. led 3-1, with Raducanu serving better but Anisimova hitting back and grabbing any short balls.

Anisimova had two chances to lead 4-1 but failed to capitalize on them, and Raducanu played well from there, withstanding the added pressure of holding serve the first time and mixing the game intelligently .

A run of five straight games saw her win the first set, but Raducanu shrank on serve and looked to new strength and conditioning coach Yutaka Nakamura.

In the opening game of the second set, she double-faulted three times, all on the left side, before asking umpire Mohamed Lahyani to call her coach.

She was already 3-0 down when she took a medical timeout, but while Raducanu’s grimace continued, the break seemed to have a greater impact on Anisimova, the 23-year-old British player. Consecutive errors allowed the British player to draw level.

Raducanu received more treatment after losing serve again and fell behind 4-3, but she still believed that she could win the game. After breaking serve again, two big fists greeted the hold, leaving her just one step away from victory. One round left.

Anisimova withstood the pressure that time, but two games later, a forehand winner capped a nice back-and-forth to create the first match point, and Raducanu seized the opportunity as she The racket fell to the court and he covered his head with his hands in celebration.

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