Emma Raducanu to face Serena Williams for first time in career at Western and Southern Open

 

Britain's Emma Raducano will face 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, Serena Williams, for the first time in her career on Sunday.

The pair have drawn together in the first round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Earlier this week, Williams suggested she would soon retire from tennis, saying she would "step away" from the sport after the US Open.

Raducanu is preparing to defend her US Open title later this month.

The British number one won last year's Flushing Meadows tournament as an unseeded 18-year-old, 22 years after Williams won her first Grand Slam singles title in New York aged just 17.

The winner will face either Victoria Azarenka or Kaia Kanepi in the second round of the Cincinnati tournament.

In the men's events, Rafael Nadal, who has a second-round bye, will play at Wimbledon for the first time since suffering a ruptured stomach that forced him to withdraw ahead of his scheduled semi-final against Nick Kyrgios.

British number one Cameron Norrie takes on Denmark's Holger Rooney and Dan Evans takes on Serbia's Filip Krajinovic in the first round, while Andy Murray takes on Japan's Taro Daniel in qualifying.