What Serena Williams said to Emma Raducanu after their 2022 Cincinnati Open 1R match
Emma Raducanu and Serena Williams exchanged pleasantries following their first-round contest at the 2022 Cincinnati Open on Tuesday. The Brit registered a quick-fire 6-4, 6-0 win against Williams in what was their first-ever meeting.
After the match, both players shook hands at the net. Despite the defeat, the 40-year-old American was all smiles as she congratulated Raducanu.
“Thank you, great match. Thank you,” Williams could be heard saying.
ꜱᴏʟɪᴅ performance 👊
In her @CincyTennis debut @EmmaRaducanu moves past Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-0! https://t.co/SZ9OjhbyWT
The 19-year-old, who has closely followed Williams' career throughout her life, was awe-struck and could barely say anything in return as she stared at the 23-time Grand Slam champion with the biggest smile on her face.
grateful to have shared the court w you serena 🙏 https://t.co/4hGTPhmsyt
The World No. 13 needed just over an hour to defeat Williams and progress to the next round, where she will face Victoria Azarenka after the Belarusian defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in her opening match.
Williams, on the other hand, will return to action at the US Open, which is expected to be her final tournament before she retires from the sport.
Also Checkout:- Cincinnati Open 2022 Schedule
“I think that everyone can draw inspiration from her, myself included” - Emma Raducanu on Serena Williams
Emma Raducanu has always spoken highly of Serena Williams and was no different following their 2022 Cincinnati Open contest. She paid her respects to the American tennis legend in both her on-court chat and her post-match press conference.
She continued to do so in an interview with Prakash Amritraj on the Tennis Channel.
“I remember my first memory of watching her play live at Wimbledon. It was a day out with my first coach and we were just watching her. She was so dominant. I think that just watching her, she's obviously got like probably the best serve ever and is the greatest player of all time. Honestly, to share the court with her, I was just really, really pleased. It was such an honor,” she said.
“I think the way she has dominated the game of tennis, the way she’s held herself over the many years. I think that everyone can draw inspiration from her, myself included,” she added.
While the scoreline spoke of a one-sided contest, Raducanu said that she was nervous throughout the match and that it was very difficult to play Williams.
“To play Serena here, you know, to be honest, I was nervous from the first point to the last point. Maybe it didn't look like that but when you're playing such a champion like her you never know when she's gonna just blow you off the court and fight. You let up a little bit and she's right back in. Like, in the first set, I was up 4-1 and then I got broken and then the crowd got involved. But it was just an amazing honor to share the court with such a legend,” she said.