In the first of her new Wimbledon columns, BBC Sport analyst Naomi Broady – a former top-60 player on the WTA Tour – discuss how British number one Emma Raducanu will look to beat 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Being Emma Raducanu, particularly at Wimbledon, is never easy.
And it certainly will not be easy when she plays 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in a tough second-round match on Wednesday.
Before her triumph two years ago, Vondrousova had barely played on grass but is now one of the best WTA players on this surface.
Here are what I think will be the keys in deciding an intriguing contest on Centre Court.
Raducanu needs to use her forehand aggressively
Since bringing Mark Petchey into her team, Raducanu has done some technical work with him on the forehand and serve.
I think the technical expertise is what he brings to the table. Emma is a clever girl and she likes to know ‘why?’ when she is told to do something and wants to understand the reasons behind it.
Mark, who used to coach Andy Murray when he was coming through, is very technical and is able to provide these answers.
That makes it easy for Emma to buy into his ideas and they share the same vision about her tennis – which is crucial.
In her first-round match against Mimi Xu, Raducanu used her forehand effectively to win 50 of the 83 rallies which were four shots or fewer
She has made a few small tweaks on the forehand, and done the same with the serve, and it is a mindset shift of being more aggressive.
In a match like she had against Mimi Xu in the first round – someone younger, someone from the same country, on the big occasion of Wimbledon – the forehand is really put to the test.
The fact it stood up in that tricky situation, and she could be brave behind it, was important.
Typically, if you’re going to be more aggressive you’re going to be hitting closer to the sidelines and playing with smaller margin.
You’re hitting the ball much harder and with that you take more risk. So when you take more risk you have to be prepared to accept you may miss more on occasions.
It’s about keeping the balance – you need the success of the shot to outweigh the misses. It’s risk-reward.
Why that will help her take control from the baseline
Rather than just being consistent, keeping the ball back in play and risking the opponent being able to attack you, it is about Emma taking control of the baseline.
She is naturally an aggressive baseliner and stands further in on the return.
She does that so well and it is important for her to keep the court position which she has gained throughout the rally.
Against Vondrousova, she will need to get the first strike in the rally.
Vondrousova likes to control the point by being awkward with her leftiness – using the spin, opening up the court and, of course, putting the ball in from the opposite angle to which it usually does.
Grass-court tennis in particular is about first-strike tennis, even more so when you’re playing someone who likes to dictate early in the rally like Vondrousova.
The threat posed by Vondrousova
When an unseeded Vondrousova won the title two years ago, she was described as one of the unlikeliest Wimbledon champions ever.
That was because she had previously won only four grass-court matches in her career and was ranked 42nd in the world after missing the previous six months with a wrist injury.
Over the past year Marketa has struggled with a shoulder injury, playing only 17 matches this season and dropping to 73rd and dropping outside the top 150 as a result.
But she reminded us all of her ability by winning the grass-court Berlin title last week – beating Australian Open champion Madison Keys, 2023 Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur and world number one Aryna Sabalenka on the way.
That’s an incredible list. But what she does naturally fits so well on to this surface.
In the Czech Republic, they spend a lot of time in the winter on indoor hard courts. Getting used to that ball coming through low and fast means her game is very easily translated on grass.
Vondrousova followed her Berlin title with an impressive victory over 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the Wimbledon first round
Using the lefty serve and forehand, she really hits on the outside of the ball so she cuts through the sidelines before the ball reaches the baseline and hits with a lot more angle than a lot of the other players do.
She’s happy to come forward, plays a lot of doubles, and is very comfortable coming up to the net.
That is again something you would develop on an indoor hard court and transitions well on to the grass.
With the serve it is all about the angles and opening up the court, but she can also disguise and flatten it out as and when she needs to and keep her opponent guessing.
I think she’s one of the best grass-court on the women’s tour – so Raducanu will have to be at the top of her game if she is going to find a way past the former Wimbledon champion.
Naomi Broady was speaking to BBC Sport’s Jonathan Jurejko at Wimbledon
