Emma Raducanu looking to finish the season on a high note - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Latest news

Emma Raducanu looking to finish the season on a high note

The US Open champion is in Cluj this week looking for a good result in one of her home countries.

Published

on

Emma Raducanu reacts during a Women's Singles quarterfinal match at the 2021 US Open, Wednesday, Sep. 8, 2021 in Flushing, NY. (Garrett Ellwood/USTA)

Life has been going a million miles an hour for 18-year-old Emma Raducanu since going on that improbable run in New York and winning her first-ever grand slam at the US Open.

 

This week she is in Cluj-Napoca for the first-ever Transylvania Open and this specific tournament has a lot of meaning for her. The reason is her father and father’s side of the family are from Romania.

On Sunday, one day before the main draw begins, the Brit faced the media to answer questions about coaching, pressure, and what it is like being a Grand Slam champion at such a young age.

” I love Romania,” she said. “I’ve been here before and used to come once or twice a year. I visited my grandma who lives in Bucharest and I always love coming back and I love how friendly and nice the people are with great humor and good food. So I have great memories from this country and it’s really nice to be back”.

Raducanu admits life hasn’t been the same since winning in New York and she outlined how different it is since she won.

” Life has been different but it’s been an experience in itself. I had an extreme high in New York and not much time off and I literally had three days rest at home and straight back out for Indian Wells,” she explained. “I am looking forward to this last swing of the season and the offseason as well”.

Raducanu has only played one match so far since the US Open which was at Indian Wells where she was upset by the Belorussian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets and she is preaching patience.

” I just need people to be patient and I know I am going to find my game and I just need a little bit of time but I am really enjoying it”. She concluded.

The 18-year-old recently decided to split with her coach and she has been seeing some different coaches on a trial basis but has confirmed she is without a coach this week.

The Britt will face the Slovenian Polona Hercog in the first round and this will be their first-ever meeting.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Latest news

Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

on

Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

on

Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Arthur Fils eases past Flavio Cobolli to move to 2-0 at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

on

World number 36 Arthur Fils eased past Flavio Cobolli 4-1 4-2 4-2 in 59 minutes to move to 2-0 in Green Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fils won 72% of his first service points and fired five aces. 

 

Fils saved a break point in the first game on the deciding point. The Frenchman broke serve in the second game and rallied from 0-30 down to hold serve in the third game. 

Fils served out the first set 4-1 with a hold at love. 

Cobolli made a double fault at 30-30 in the first game of the second set, but Fils broke serve when Cobolli hit his backhand into the net. 

Cobolli saved a break point with an ace on the deciding point in the third game. Fils won his next two service games with ease to seal the second set 4-2. The Frenchman dropped two points on serve in the second set.

Fils earned an early break in the first game of the third set. Cobolli broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Fils broke for the second time at love in the third game with a backhand down the line return winner and sealed the win on his second match point. 

Fils, who beat Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will face Dominic Stricker in his third round-robin match. 

“I played very nice today. I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy with it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s what I can do”, said Arthur Fils. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending