In-form Briton Emma Raducanu and Maria Sakkari meet in Friday's Wimbledon third-round match almost three years after the former's US Open semi-final success en route to her maiden Grand Slam title.
The returning home star found her range in emphatically dispatching Elise Mertens in the previous round, and she pits her wits against her Greek opponent, who set up a rematch of that 2021 encounter by defeating Arantxa Rus in straight sets.
Match preview
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If Raducanu felt she notched a first-round win over Renata Zarazua by winning ugly, Wednesday's incredible showing was a peak performance where nearly everything the one-time Grand Slam champion tried came off.
Having decided to miss this year's French Open to prepare for Wimbledon, the Briton's call is paying off and then some, underlined by reaching the third round without dropping a set.
The 21-year-old overcame Zarazua 7-6(0), 6-3 and raised her level against Mertens, dispatching her Belgian opponent 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the third round at the Championships for the first time.
Additionally, this is the deepest Raducanu has gone since her 2021 US Open success, highlighting the effects of the Wild Card's injury bugbear.
Sakkari was one of the opponents a then-teenager defeated en route to claiming her only Slam title to date, and she seeks to continue her encouraging grass-court form against the seeded Greek.
The No. 9 seed has, like her opponent, failed to drop a set in the lead-up to their third-round match on Friday.
She faced more resistance against Rus in round two, beating the Dutchwoman 7-5, 6-3, having dropped just four games against American qualifier McCartney Kessler in a 6-3, 6-1 first-round success.
However, only one player can go through to the fourth round, with Sakkari one match away from outdoing her previous best showing at SW19, after failing to get past the third in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
Reaching the third round is the Greek player's best showing at the majors this year, following a second-round exit at the Australian Open and an earlier one at Roland Garros, but she aims to advance at the All England Club, keen to halt Raducanu's impressive run on home soil to avenge that semi-final loss in New York three years ago.
Tournament so far
Emma Raducanu:
First round: vs. Renata Zarazua 7-6[0] 6-3
Second round: vs. Elise Mertens 6-1 6-2
Maria Sakkari:
First round: vs. McCartney Kessler 6-3 6-1
Second round: vs. Arantxa Rus 7-5 6-3
Head To Head
US Open (2021) - Semi-final: Raducanu 6-1 6-4
Both players are facing for the first time since the 2021 US Open semi-final, possibly down to Raducanu's injury hell in the last couple of years.
That match went Raducanu's way, with the Briton notching a 6-1, 6-4 win in one hour 24 minutes. Sakkari struggled with her serve throughout, particularly in the opening set where she was undermined by four double faults as the British player claimed the set 6-1.
While the Greek woman improved somewhat in the second, Raducanu securing a break of serve in the third game sufficed as she closed it out fairly comfortably with her opponent failing to register a second-set break point.
Raducanu had a 13-9 record before Wimbledon with Sakkari coming into the third Grand Slam of the year with 19 wins and 12 defeats.
We say: Raducanu to win in three sets
Whatever Raducanu achieves in the third round is contingent on maintaining the level shown in her second-round defeat of Mertens.
The Briton has had a superior grass-court tilt, underlined by commendable performances in Nottingham and Eastbourne, eclipsing her opponent who failed to make it past the first round in Berlin and Bad Homburg.
The former US Open champion may be forced to a decider this time, but she has ample momentum to beat her Greek opponent in their second meeting on Tour.
