Fake it until you make it

Not sure that works here for Croatian ^^

The 23-year-old Croatian (No. 67 WTA), coached by Juraj Dusparić, is the “survivor” of this draw. Beaten in qualifying, she got in as a lucky loser to defeat an out-of-gas Raducanu (6-1, 5-7, 6-2). While Antonia lasted 2h20 on court, she was far from flawless: she let huge chances slip by in the second set before capitalizing on the complete collapse of the Brit, who was clearly hampered physically! The Croatian is still a baseliner who lacks real variety.

The 24-year-old Russian (No. 104 WTA), coached by her fatherVladimir Zakharov, is the other lucky loser of the day. Unlike Ružić, she swept aside Moyuka Uchijima (6-2, 6-4) in the first round with clinical cleanliness. Anastasia is in full possession of her physical means and is carrying no fatigue from any marathon match. Originally from Volgograd, she plays very aggressive tennis, taking the ball early to smother her opponents, a style that could really hurt a worn-out Ružić.

Let’s not be blinded by the name “Raducanu” on Antonia Ružić’s match sheet. The statistical reality is harsh: Emma was sick, on medication, and ended up collapsing after leading 2–0 in the final set. Ružić faced 13 break pointsagainst a player who could barely breathe properly on court. On the other side of the net, Anastasia Zakharova comes in with total freshness and a much more consistent power-hitting game.

Her miracle-survivor resilience in Lucky Loser mode and her constant pressure with that beautiful backhand on the return make her a momentum player, ready to punish the slightest physical dip from Antonia Ružić.