Wednesday, June 11

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Queen's Club Championships last-16 match between Emma Raducanu and Rebecca Sramkova, including predictions, head-to-head and their tournament so far.

Fresh off dispatching Cristina Bucsa on Tuesday, Emma Raducanu faces Rebecca Sramkova in Thursday's last-16 match at the Queen’s Club Championships. 

The British star bounced back from her French Open elimination to begin her grass season impressively, and she takes on Sramkova, who beat last year’s Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets.

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Match preview

Much was made about Raducanu’s return to grass before Tuesday’s contest with Bucsa, and the one-time Grand Slam champion swatted the Spanish qualifier aside in just over an hour. 

The 22-year-old’s reward for the tournament-opening 6-1, 6-2 success is a matchup with Sramkova, whom she faces for the first time, keen to secure back-to-back wins on the tour this year on a third different surface. 

Having defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova and Anisimova in Australia, as well as Maya Joint, Jil Teichmann and Veronika Kudermetova on the Rome clay, the former world No. 10 strives for a repeat on grass. 

The omens look promising for the British player, whose performances on grass leading into last year's Wimbledon aided her run to the fourth round, equalling her best effort from 2021. 

Including Tuesday's result, the 2021 US Open champion has won eight of her 11 grass-court matches in the last 52 weeks, highlighting her admirable level during that period, and she aims to secure a ninth at Sramkova's expense. 

While the Slovakian player was expected to beat Krejcikova in three sets, the Czech player could not force a decider in the final match on Andy Murray Arena, defeating the 2024 Wimbledon champion 6-4, 6-3.

The world No. 41 took advantage of break opportunities on the higher-ranked player's serve, clinically breaking the world No. 17 four times from five chances created. 

Only the 28-year-old's 11th win of the season, the Slovakian seeks consecutive victories on the tour for the first time since February, when she defeated Lulu Sun and Beatriz Haddad Maia in Merida, progressing to the quarter-final of the Mexico-based event. 

Having barely played any tour-level matches on grass throughout her career — she holds a 2-1 WTA record and a 5-7 record if qualifying matches are included — the 28-year-old faces an uphill task against her British opponent. 

While a 12th victory of 2025 will be most welcome, Sramkova must end a four-month wait for back-to-back wins to reach the tournament's last eight.

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Tournament so far

Emma Raducanu:

First round: vs. Cristina Bucsa 6-1 6-2

 

Rebecca Sramkova:

First round: vs. Barbora Krejcikova 6-4 6-3

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Head To Head

Raducanu and Sramkova will face off for the first time on the WTA Tour, with the winner taking a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head. 

The home player’s form has improved since the second leg of the Sunshine Double in Miami and carries her clay momentum into the grass season, having improved to 8-3 on the surface considering last year’s results prior to the Championships. 

As for her opponent, Tuesday’s victory over last year’s Wimbledon champion was her ninth career success on grass across the lesser and main tour, underlining the Slovak’s comparative inexperience.

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We say: Raducanu to win in two sets

On home turf, Raducanu is backed to secure another victory on grass, especially in front of partisan support, to beat her opponent and improve to 9-3 in the last 52 weeks, setting up a quarter-final meeting with Qinwen Zheng or McCartney Kessler. ID:574823:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5326:

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