Key events
Emma Raducanu is yet to beat Iga Swiatek, or even take a set from the world No 2, in their previous three meetings. But she can take some solace from only one of those matches being played on hard-court when the Brit was at least somewhat competitive in defeat back in 2023.
Tumaini Carayol is at Melbourne Park and spoke to Raducanu about what has gone wrong in her past clashes with Swiatek, and how she can turn it around this time.
I really relish [big occasions]. 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, which is great. It’s a match that I’m looking forward to.
The first match of note this morning is about to start on John Cain Arena where Alex Michelsen is facing 19th seed Karen Khachanov (19).
The big-serving American is searching for another big scalp after beating 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round, while also hoping to reach the fourth round in a grand slam for the first time. It could be the first of many for the 20-year-old.
Khachanov will be no pushover and he enjoys the hardcourts of Melbourne Park, reaching at least the third round here for seven consecutive years including a run to the last four in 2023.
The winner could be meeting a certain Alex de Minaur in the round of 16, though Francisco Cerundolo might have something to say about that.
Now for the weather. The sun is belting down at Melbourne Park with temperatures already at 22 degrees and expected to hit a high of 29. Ideal conditions for a cracking day of tennis.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of day seven at the 2025 Australian Open.
We’re deep into the third round of the men’s and women’s singles at Melbourne Park with a mouth-watering morning headlined by a clash between Emma Raducanu and second seed Iga Swiatek. The pair of grand slam winners will be tossing balls on Rod Laver Arena at 11.30am before Australia’s favourite bundle of energy Alex de Minaur takes to the same stage around 2pm.
De Minaur is yet to drop a set in this home grand slam but this time faces a giant-killer in Francisco Cerundolo (32) who has 11 wins against top-10 seeds since 2022. The afternoon will also take in more of those highly-seeded types in Fritz, Rybakina, Navarro and Kasatkina as we close in on the pointy end of the tournament, with prime time set aside for the likes of reigning men’s champion Jannik Sinner and the happy slam’s newfound pantomime villain Danielle Collins.
My fingers will be bashing away to keep up with Raducanu and Swiatek’s speed around the court, but attention shall also be turned (feel free to help me out using the links below) on these match-ups:
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11am: Alex Michelsen v Karen Khachanov (19)
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11.30am: Emma Raducanu v Iga Swiatek (2)
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11.30am: Emma Navarro (8) v Ons Jabeur
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1pm: Taylor Fritz (4) v Gael Monfils
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1pm: Daria Kasatkina (9) v Yulia Putintseva (24)
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2pm: Alex de Minaur (8) v Francisco Cerundolo (31)
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2pm: Elena Rybakina (6) v Dayana Yastremska (32)
Our learned friend Jonathan Howcroft will take the tools around the time that De Minaur should be warming up on RLA, but until then please get in touch on email, or @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. Let’s get into it!
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