Emma Raducanu has fired a warning to Daria Kasatkina ahead of their crunch clash at the Korea Open on Saturday morning.
The tennis star has started to rediscover her mojo, having previously been sent crashing out of the US Open in the first round last month.
Raducanu was too strong for Peyton Stearns on Tuesday, winning 7-6, 7-6 to go through to the round of 16.
And she was impressive on Thursday, with the 21-year-old beating Yue Yuan 6-4, 6-3 as she continued her recent resurgence.
Emma Raducanu has fired a warning to Daria Kasatkina ahead of their crunch clash at the Korea Open on Saturday morning
SKY
Raducanu has lost both of her previous meetings with Kasatkina, who is the No 1 seed for the tournament.
She believes the hard-court surface will benefit her opponent when they do battle in Seoul.
But Raducanu has also warned her opponent that she’ll be playing with freedom and has ‘nothing to lose’.
“I think these courts suit her because they bounce quite a bit,” she said.
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“But for me, every time I get exposure to that top level of opponent, it’s invaluable. It allows me to build confidence.
“It’s a match where I don’t really have anything to lose.”
Raducanu was pleased to beat Yuan, despite the tennis star admitting to some ‘nerves’ as she closed in on victory.
“Second set, a bit of nerves came in. I haven’t been in that situation much,” she said.
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“I just had to remind myself I was a set and 5-3 up.
“I was ready to break, I’d been putting pressure on her service games all the time.”
Raducanu also admitted to ‘frustration’, with the tennis star broken in a final service game that lasted 17 minutes.
She managed to break Yuan back to go through, despite needing a medical time out during the contest.
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Emma Raducanu ADVANCES to the Korea Open quarter-finals! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/0qthJMMeUE
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“Key to my success today was trying to let go off any frustration,” she revealed.
“Closing out the match I had a lot of match points and couldn’t convert, so staying focused and breaking in that last game.”
Raducanu is hunting her second pro title out in Korea.
Her first was achieved at the US Open in 2021, with the youngster upsetting the odds to reign supreme.
Emma Raducanu beat Yue Yuan on Thursday to set up a blockbuster clash with Daria Kasatkina
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Kasatkina made the quarter-finals of the Korea Open with victory over Hailey Baptiste.
She won 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the last eight.