"Was a privilege to be on the side of the court for all of Emma Raducanu's US Open main-draw matches" - Tim Henman
Tim Henman recently gave his thoughts about Emma Raducanu's historic US Open triumph. Raducanu became the first qualifier in history to lift a Grand Slam trophy last month, and Henman heaped praise on his countrywoman's resolve and composure in each of her 10 matches (including qualifying).
Speaking in an interview with TalkSport, the former World No. 4 also claimed it was a privilege and a pleasure to watch Raducanu dominate all of her opponents.
"It was a privilege to be on the side of the court for all her main draw matches and just see the quality of her tennis at close quarters," Henman said. "The way she dealt with the step up in class of each match and took it in her stride, I thought her resilience mentally, her composure and the consistency was incredible."
"To win 20 straight sets to qualify and win a Grand Slam is unprecedented in our sport," he added. "It was a real pleasure to watch."
Tim Henman, however, emphasized that Emma Raducanu shouldn't be burdened with undue expectations while she is still new to the tour. He highlighted that his countrywoman has only played a handful of WTA tournaments, and opined that we shouldn't get "ahead of ourselves".
"I think that’s probably getting a little ahead of ourselves," Henman said when asked about the possibility of Raducanu winning multiple Slams. "She has shown her enormous potential by what she did in New York, but she is still so young and so inexperienced. She has played so few events on the tour, let alone at Grand Slam level. I think it's very easy to get ahead of ourselves."
Henman believes that a good way to examine a player's potential and development is to look at them once they have played every tournament twice. In that context, the Brit said that the right time to assess Emma Raducanu's game would be when she has played tournaments, especially the four Majors, twice.
"I remember having a conversation regarding some of the young up and coming players on the men's tour," Henman said. "And to really understand where a player is at and their development, for me you get a very good insight once they’ve played every tournament twice."
"To put it into context, she has never played the clay court swing, she's never played Roland Garros, she has never played the Australian Open," he added. "Once she has played all those events twice, then we will be able to assess where her game is at."
"It is as much about the process as the outcome" - Tim Henman on Emma Raducanu
Tim Henman went on to talk in more detail about his young compatriot's game and potential. He underlined the importance of Emma Raducanu continuing to develop her game and focusing on the "process" as much as on the "outcome".
Henman believes the teenager can further improve her game to become "fitter" and faster", while continuing to gain experience of playing at the highest level .
"Right now, it is as much about the process as the outcome and keep developing her game," Tim Henman said. "What’s exciting is that she can improve in so many areas."
"It's easy to focus on her tennis game, but she can get fitter, stronger, faster and gain experience playing at the highest level and continue improving her tennis game," he added. "If she does that then I think she will go on and win more tournaments in the future."