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Emma Raducanu's victory over Serena Williams at the Cincinnati Open earned her another Center Court match against another former Grand Slam champion - Victoria Azarenka. The US Open defending champion is one of the players to watch out for in the US summer hardcourt swing and her round of 32 clash against Azarenka is one of two WTA matches on Center Court in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
However, another match that certainly has all the ingredients to be a thriller is between World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens. Surpisingly, the match did not get a Center Court preference and tennis fans expressed their dissent with the scheduling, particularly with Swiatek's match being scheduled for Grandstand rather than the main court.
Third seed Paula Badosa and Australian star Ajla Tomljanovic will face off in the only other WTA match on Center Court on Wednesday. Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Taylor Fritz, and Nick Kyrgios are among the ATP stars who will be seen on the day on Center Court.
Emma Raducanu vs Victoria Azarenka is certainly a match to look forward to. But fans opined that World No. 1 Swiatek has earned the right to play on the premier court, with some of them driving home the point in quite an aggressive manner.
"They preferred to have Miss Congeniality one-slam-wonder Raducanu on centre again instead of the world number 1," one fan wrote on Twitter reacting to the order of play posted by the Cincinnati Open page.
Raducanu defeated Williams in their first-ever career meeting in a night match on Tuesday and was handed very little time to be ready for her match against Azarenka, scheduled for 1 pm local time the very next day.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Wednesday's Center Court schedule in Cincinnati:
"I said, like, one “Come on” in the match" - Emma Raducanu on the experience of playing Serena Williams
Emma Raducanu will walk out on Center Court at the Cincinnati Open once again on Wednesday with some very fond memories of Tuesday's match. Raducanu achieved the rare feat of 'bageling' Serena Williams to complete a 6-4, 6-0 win. However, Raducanu was just cherishing the experience of playing against a great champion like Williams.
The 19-year-old said that she deliberately did not overtly celebrate during the match out of respect for Williams and said that she was 'in awe' of the American legend.
"To be honest, I was just like in awe and you don't want to - I think I said, like, one “Come on” in the match, and I was just staying to myself, because I respect her so much as an athlete, as a tennis player, as a person. Who knows how many times I'm going to see such a great champion out there again," Emma Raducanu said in her post-match press conference.
Raducanu will now aim to carry that momentum of a strong performance against Williams into the match against Azarenka. Raducanu has had a mixed bag of results during the American hardcourt swing and will benefit greatly from a deep run in Cincinnati leading up to her US Open title defense.
