"The biggest thing, however, is me swinging like playing completely free again" - Emma Raducanu after beating two former World No. 1's consecutively
Emma Raducanu is displaying sublime form in the ongoing Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. The Brit spoke about how the convincing wins have rekindled hopes of her getting back her mojo.
The World No. 13 rose to prominence following her triumph at last year's US Open. However, the 19-year-old has since then struggled with her performance and suffered a subsequent dip in her form. Plying her trade at the Cincinnati Open, the teenager dismantled the 23-time Grand Slam winner, Serena Williams, to set up a clash with another former World No. 1, Victoria Azarenka.
Despite having less than 24 hours of preparation, Raducanu tore apart the Belarusian and became the first player to bagel Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in consecutive matches.
Serena Williams✅ Serena Williams
✅ Victoria Azarenka
Emma Raducanu beat two former World No.1 opponents in the Cincinnati Masters and says she feels she is playing 'completely free again'. https://t.co/HnZ910Rmrj
Speaking to Sky Sports, Raducanu spoke about how free her mind was while playing those matches. She also pointed out her improvements in shot selection and how she is willing to learn from her own mistakes.
"The biggest thing, however, is me swinging like playing completely free again, not really pushing the ball just to get it in, like I actually am going in for the shot. Way more accepting of the errors that I make," Raducanu said.
When asked if the exit of the two Grand Slam winners would give her much-needed confidence, the teenager said that each round at the event was going to be tough and spoke of the challenges involved in playing her next opponent, Jessica Pegula.
"Every match of this masters is going to be difficult and again tomorrow she plays aggressive tennis too and playing at home she is gonna have a lot of support behind her so I am prepared for that, I had a good practice," she said.
"When you know you are playing an amazing champion,you know you have to be totally on it"- Emma Raducanu on added pressure of playing Major winners
Emma Raducanu looks to be finding her form ahead of her title defense at the US Open.
In the same interview, the Brit spoke about how difficult the matches the Slam champions were irrespective of what was seen from the outside. She mentioned the mental battle she had to go through before facing such amazing athletes.
"It was a really tricky match and those matches are difficult although it might not seem like it from the outside. When you know you are playing an amazing champion you know you have to be on it again like the previous match," she said.
grateful to have shared the court w you serena 🙏 https://t.co/4hGTPhmsyt
Emma Raducanu said she was pleased that she could stay calm at crucial junctures, given Azarenka's improved form in the second set and almost making a comeback.
"You know when the score is too much in your favor almost you know something could go wrong so I was very pleased at how well I held my nerve over there, There were some moments in the second set wherei felt like the momentum could go easily change if I held back in the match," the Brit said.