Francesca Jones is on fire at the Nottingham Open! Overcoming all the rain delays and intense battles, the British player has successfully secured her place in the quarterfinals. However, the war is hardly over for the 23-year-old player as in her next match, awaits the former U.S. Open Champion, Emma Raducanu. Will she be able to continue her winning streak there? According to Jones, she has “no pressure” on herself in this regard.

Francesca Jones was over the moon after she defeated Ashlyn Krueger to qualify for her second tour-level quarterfinal match on the grass. Although the match got delayed by almost 24 hours due to rain, Jones’ spirit didn’t dampen as she defeated Krueger by 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. After what she calls her “warm-up” game with Krueger, Jones opened up about her mindset before facing Emma Raducanu.

“It’ll be a great match. Obviously, no pressure on me. I’ve just got to come and enjoy it. I hope we both enjoy it. We can give the crowd a bit of a taste of what will hopefully be the future of British tennis,” she recently said. Although the duo has never faced each other on-court before, off the court, they are very close friends. It all started when the former World No. 10, Raducanu, met Jones during the Billie Jean King Cup event in April. As both come from the same country (Britain), naturally, they were in the same team, fighting to take their nation forward in the game. They did it successfully, as they qualified for the finals of the event.

That’s how their friendship began. “Emma and I get on really well. We’ve spent a lot of time with each other the last couple of weeks, to the point that we’re both actually ill and I think we’ve given it to each other – I’m going to blame her,” the 249th-ranked player further added to her statements.

Jones, who had an ITF junior ranking of World No. 31, has qualified for three finals of the ITF circuit this season, winning one of them in Italy last month. However, right now, her focus is on giving her best and enjoying her next match with her friend, Raducanu. On the other hand, the 209th-ranked player is also hopeful yet cautious of her match against Jones.

Emma Raducanu talks about her dynamic with Francesca Jones ahead of their clash

The 21-year-old Emma Raducanu has swept past her two rounds and is vying for her first WTA Tour title. The quarterfinalist of the Stuttgart Open is therefore planning to defy all the odds and put all her efforts into the upcoming match against Jones. However, the former British No. 1 player is relieved about one thing as she revealed recently – “Whatever happens, a Brit is into the semi-finals, which is great for us.”

Further adding about her “dangerous” opponent on-court, Raducanu shed light on their off-court dynamic as well. “She’s very fun. I think we’re quite similar in the way that we think. We both have a lot of interests outside of tennis and our conversations aren’t just about tennis, which is always nice and always refreshing.” As both prepare to give their best performances on-court, the tennis world waits to see who emerges victorious, Francesca Jones or Emma Raducanu.