John McEnroe makes prediction ahead of Emma Raducanu vs Iga Swiatek clash

John McEnroe feels Emma Raducanu has a ‘shot’ of eliminating Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Australian Open, although says it will be a ‘tall order’.

Raducanu headed to Melbourne Park unseeded but has progressed to the third round of the Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.

The 22-year-old world No.61, who tasted major glory at the 2021 US Open, stunned Russian 26th-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in her opening match.

The British tennis star then defeated Amanda Anisimova in the second round on Thursday to set up a third-round battle with world No.2 Swiatek.

Ahead of Raducanu’s blockbuster showdown with Swiatek, tennis legend McEnroe feels physical struggles could be an issue for the Briton.

‘She called the trainer a couple of times on the court during the second set against Anisimova,’ McEnroe told Eurosport. ‘It looked kind of iffy what was going to happen.

‘I don’t know if that threw Anisimova off, but it worked. She looked like she was moving better – but obviously that will be a problem against Iga.

‘To me, when you play a top player like Iga who’s not as comfortable on hard courts as she is on clay, it’s a good time to play her, when she’s not quite sure of herself.

‘Radacanu’s making progress but it’ll be a tall order. If she’s feeling right, she’ll have a shot at it. It’s good to see her back in the mix.’

Quizzed for a prediction as to who will win this year’s Australian Open title in the women’s singles, McEnroe added: ‘Aryna Sabalenka is playing incredible tennis and she’s playing with more confidence, she’s worked hard to add more variety to her game, she obviously has the power.

‘But I think Coco [Gauff is] in a better place than she’s been in her career so far. She had a great run with Brad Gilbert, won [the US] Open.

‘She’s got a bit of a new team here, but she’s thinking more on her own now, growing up, and she’s absolutely a threat. Those are the two players to me, one of those two players I think is going to win it.’

Meanwhile, Swiatek is expecting a tough match against Raducanu, admitting that WTA rankings go out the window when facing such a tough player.

‘There’s no point to look at rankings, especially when you have these great players that already have been through great tournaments and won some tournaments,’ the Polish star said. ‘You know that they can play well.’