Emma Raducanu takes on Serena Williams for first time at Cincinnati tournament; Rafael Nadal returns from injury
Serena Williams, who is planning to retire from the tennis in the near future, takes on Britain's Emma Raducanu, the reigning US Open champion, in the first round of the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday
Monday 15 August 2022 07:45, UK
Emma Raducanu will face Serena Williams for the first time in her career after the pair were drawn to face each other in the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
The first match between the two players was originally expected to be part of Monday's Order of Play, however it has been pushed back a day to Tuesday. The evening sessions in Cincinnati start at 7pm (midnight BST).
Williams, who will turn 41 next month, indicated this week that she was planning retirement soon, stating she was "evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me".
The 23-time Grand Slam champion's exit from the sport could come after the upcoming US Open - where Britain's Raducanu will be defending the title she won as an unseeded 18-year-old a year ago.
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The winner of the first-round clash between Williams and Raducanu will take on either Victoria Azarenka or Kaia Kanepi in the next round.
Williams - also a teenager when she claimed the first of her six titles at Flushing Meadows in 1999 - was tearful following her second-round exit to Belinda Bencic at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Wednesday, saying: "I'm terrible at goodbyes."
Meanwhile, in the men's Cincinnati tournament, Rafael Nadal returns to the court for the first time since suffering an abdominal tear that forced him to withdraw from the semi-finals at Wimbledon in July.
The Spaniard has been given a bye to the second round, while British No 1 Cameron Norrie - who is seeded ninth - will take on Denmark's Holger Rune in the first round.
Dan Evans faces Serbia's Filip Krajinovic at the same stage, while Andy Murray moves into the main draw after Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Jack Draper at the National Bank Open quarter-finals in Montreal.
Norrie and Murray are in action on Monday, the first day of the competition in Cincinnati.
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