Emma Raducanu suggested her expectations were ‘low’ when she started her campaign in the WTA 500 event at the Queen’s Club, but she must now realise she has been handed a glorious opportunity to take her promising season to the next level.
A back injury was the primary reason why Raducanu downplayed her hopes of success on home soil, even though she has a solid record playing on grass courts.
Yet the draw has opened up nicely for the 2021 US Open champion after she cruised to victory in her opening match with a thumping 6-1 6-2 victory over Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa.
She will face Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova in the round of 16 on Thursday, with the Slovak player ranked just one place below Raducanu in the live WTA Rankings at No 38 heading into their first career meeting.
If Raducanu beats Sramkova, who has a modest record on grass compared to the Brit, Raducanu could be in line to meet world No 5 Zheng Qinwen.
More Tennis News
Emma Raducanu makes brutally honest confession after winning first match at Queen’s Club
How Lois Boisson broke an Emma Raducanu WTA Rankings record with French Open run
A match with Zheng would appear to be a huge challenge for Raducanu, but the Chinese player has a horrible record on grass courts and that would give the home favourite a chance to cause an upset.
If Raducanu gets through to the semi-finals at the Queen’s Club, she should return to the top 30 of the WTA Rankings and that would be enough to secure a seeding at Wimbledon, if she stays there until the end of the month.
That kind of run would start the hype machine around Raducanu once again ahead of Wimbledon, with tennis legend Chris Evert suggesting the attention the 22-year-old receives in the media is not helping her game.
“I just feel she has lost so many years of her career because of the whole thing around the one big win,” Evert told Tennis365 in her role as a TNT Sports analyst at Roland Garros.
“It’s the same with Naomi (Osaka). You could through so and all of a sudden you have that one big win.
“Emma is a beautiful girl and that probably didn’t help. The endorsements came in, the coaches were coming in an out and still her expectations are right up there now.
“She’s not there yet. She’s got to build, go back to the drawing board and build-up slowly. Maybe she had to swallow her pride a little because she’s not up there yet.
“I think she can get top 10 again,” added Evert. “If there is a solid commitment from her, I think top 10 can happen again.
“You have to remember a lot of people [top players] lost when she won that US Open and the player Emma beat in the final, Leylah Fernandez, had nothing left.
“Leylah beat three players in the top five. Emma didn’t beat anyone in the top ten. I remember commenting on the match and you could see that.
“If Leylah had won, her life may have changed forever, but Emma is the one who had to live through that experience. We will never see a qualifier come through and do what she did again, but it was tough for her after that.”
READ NEXT: Chris Evert makes bold Emma Raducanu rankings claim as she expresses her fears
The post Emma Raducanu handed a glorious chance to make a huge rankings breakthrough appeared first on Tennis365.
Tennis News – Tennis365