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Emma Raducanu Wimbledon draw: Projected path to final and potential popcorn matches

Based upon the women's singles draw, what are the chances of an Emma Raducanu run to remember at Wimbledon this year?

The Wimbledon draw has been made and all eyes at the All England Club will be on Emma Raducanu.

The 19-year-old announced herself to the world at SW19 last season before going on to win the US Open in September.

She will have to deal with the pressures of being a genuine British hope at Wimbledon, and that is something she couldn't do last year, but how kind has the draw been to her?

Emma Raducanu's quarter

Emma Raducanu has been drawn in the same quarter as third seed Ons Jabeur, but generally it is a kind section for her to land.
She will start things off against Alison Van Uytvanck, the world number 46. That is a tricky opener, perhaps trickier than it initially sounds. The Belgian went as far as the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2018 and is a former Roland Garros semi-finalist.

Caroline Garcia is the projected opponent for Raducanu in round two. She is something of an enigma. Garcia is the world number 75 right now, although she climbed as high as number four in 2018.

If Raducanu gets as far as round three, she could face Zhang Shaui of China. Fellow Brit Katie Swan is a possible opponent there, but it's more likely to be the 19th seed Zhang.

That is a bit of luck for Raducanu, as clean-hitting former US Open finalist Madison Keys was on that line of the draw. However, she pulled out with an injury on Saturday.

American Danielle Collins, is projected for Raducanu in round four. She is the seventh seed and reached the Australian Open final this year, although she has had problems with consistency.

Quarter-final

Should Emma Raducanu make it that far, a quarter-final date with Ons Jabeur looks likely.
The Tunisian is having the best season of her career and that has seen her climb to number three in the world rankings. She has also won two of her three career WTA titles this year.
That includes one on grass in Berlin just this month where she beat Coco Gauff in the semi-finals.
Jabeur is heading to Wimbledon with a slight injury concern, though. She was Serena Williams' doubles partner in Eastbourne before withdrawing after two matches with a thigh problem. That said, it was likely pre-planned to enable them both to get to Wimbledon a couple of days early.

Semi-finals

The biggest positive for Raducanu is that she is has avoided both Iga Swiatek and Serena Williams in the draw. They are in the other half, and that would make for a kinder semi-final should she get there.
Anett Kontaveit, the second seed, and Maria Sakkari headline the section from which Raducanu's semi-final opponent would come. There is not a huge amount of pedigree in there, with Jelena Ostapenko the only major winner Raducanu could play in the last four.

Final

The other half of the draw is definitely the stronger. Iga Swiatek, Serena Williams, Paula Badosa, Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova, Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova are all in it.

That is an awful lot of Grand Slam titles, and there are other dangerous grasscourters such as Camila Giorgi of Italy, too.

Emma Raducanu projected path to final

R1: Alison Van Uytvanck
R2: Caroline Garcia

R3: Zhang Shuai (19)

R4: Danielle Collins (7)
QF: Ons Jabeur (3)
SF: Anett Kontaveit (2)
F: Iga Swiatek (1)
That run may look daunting if just reading the seed numbers, but it's actually very kind. Majors tend to be about avoiding the pedigree, the players who have proven they can win them, and Raducanu would pretty much entirely do that until the final.

Of course, that projected run almost certainly won't happen. The WTA is notoriously unpredictable, as is Wimbledon itself, but either way you would have to be very happy with that draw if you're in the Raducanu camp.

READ MORE: Rafael Nadal told Calendar Grand Slam is a 'realistic goal' for him to chase ahead of Wimbledon

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