If Emma Raducanu had Cam Norrie's stamina she would become a top 20 player. I'm so invested in British player that I started to do breathing exercises watching Emma. The girl who use to live in Bromley Common before the millions came in, is a queen of drama. The bizarre thing is after the long break after the second set when she was waiting for her opponent she ate a banana really quickly (I know that's normal) but as soon as the final set started she looked as if she was going to throw up. By Aussie summer standards the temperature was ok. It's crazy to think that she is still a rookie on the professional circuit after the fairytale victory in New York 3 years ago. Injuries and illness means she has never had a consistent run to build up her skill set and stamina in match situations.
There really were positives after the two matches in the AO but being a slam winners there will always be a target on her back as there is kudos for players ranked about 100 like Wang in beating her.
We will see how much Emma wants it as the money isn't the motivation as she can earn more outside Tennis by taking the Maria Sharapova route to financial riches. Sharapova did keep playing but after winning her first slam at 17, lived in the shadow of Serena Williams mainly who she lost to more than Cafc lose to Millwall !
If ER was motivated largely by money she wouldn't have persevered in that match when she started to feel ill. She gets paid the same however she loses the match, in 3 sets or illness withdrawal. She's barely had 2 years on the tour and after that lengthy layoff she can't be expected to sail straight back to consistent performances. The good parts of that match were really very good. Her opponent rose from ranking 418 to 97 through 2023 including beating Caroline Garcia at Flushing Meadow, she has been as high as 47 before Chinese quarantine regulations shut down her career through covid, the main advantage she had over RB was being battle hardened from regular tournaments. ER is going to run into several of these in the coming months. They may be less talented than Emma, they won't have reached the heights of a Grand Slam final but their muscle memory will be better, some of them will beat her just cos they're grooved and better acquainted with what they do well and what they do less well. The business of 'getting over the line' takes practice. I hope ER gets the chance to find her level again.
Emma was determined to keep going today despite the sickness which showed she's got a new determined attitude to battle and fight through adversity. I said Money wasn't her motivation in playing tennis and there were positives in her two matches in the AO. Her opponent today Wang made few unforced errors other than the 2nd set when Raducanu played some sublime tennis to come back and level the match.
I was more thinking will she keep battling away when she is 24 if she doesn't get back to the elite top 20 and go deep into the second week of slams. Time is on her side but she does need to get a settled team behind her as she gets rid of more coaches than Watford in her short professional career so far.
I will continue to support her and all the Brits; Jack Draper has similar illness and Injury issues in his career so far.
I wish Norrie could pass his energy and pace on to Cafc players. Great win against Rune in 4 sets and one of his best ever performances against a top 20 player in a slam.
Cam Norrie had never taken a set of the grand slam winner and 6ft 6in giant Zverev and yet he managed to go to a 5th set tie break with a fantastic performance which came so close but ultimately fell short after 4 hours of tennis. Ironic that the drop shot that Norrie had used so well with his opponent at the back of the court ended up being his down fall in the tie break and gave the momentum to the German. Beating Rune in the last round and going to a 5th set tie break against Zverev should give the super fit athlete Cam Norrie confidence for the rest of the season.
Cam Norrie had never taken a set of the grand slam winner and 6ft 6in giant Zverev and yet he managed to go to a 5th set tie break with a fantastic performance which came so close but ultimately fell short after 4 hours of tennis. Ironic that the drop shot that Norrie had used so well with his opponent at the back of the court ended up being his down fall in the tie break and gave the momentum to the German. Beating Rune in the last round and going to a 5th set tie break against Zverev should give the super fit athlete Cam Norrie confidence for the rest of the season.
A decent summary ,but Zverev has never won a grand slam and Norrie last round beat Rudd.
Keep in mind with Jack that he’s about to defend 300pts from Indian Wells. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him slip back out of the top 50 again if he gets unlucky with the draw.
Keep in mind with Jack that he’s about to defend 300pts from Indian Wells. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him slip back out of the top 50 again if he gets unlucky with the draw.
Will he be fit enough to play?
He seems to be the 'Chuks Aneke' of tennis. A decent victory or two then he has to retire in the middle of a match injured.
Delighted for Katie Boulter. I've thought she is a better player than she has delivered for a year or more now.
Keep in mind with Jack that he’s about to defend 300pts from Indian Wells. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him slip back out of the top 50 again if he gets unlucky with the draw.
Will he be fit enough to play?
He seems to be the 'Chuks Aneke' of tennis. A decent victory or two then he has to retire in the middle of a match injured.
Delighted for Katie Boulter. I've thought she is a better player than she has delivered for a year or more now.
Jack Draper does find it hard to go deep into a tournament without retiring BUT if it was a stomach upset then at least it wasn't a muscle issue.
Katie Boulter was still on a high from the San Diego 500 win and not surpringly couldn't play like a player now ranked 29 in the world in the quick turn around. At 6ft tall it's no surprise that Katie has a big serve and has a powerful forehand.
The 27 year old could continue to improve IF she stays fit and confident.
Draper and Murray both win round 1 in Miami. Draper beat Taro Daniel and Murray beat Berrettini.
Draper up to 38 in the live rankings and Murray now 57. Both have a “free hit” for the rest of the tournament in that they already have surpassed their last year’s performance.
Hopefully they can win a couple more each and climb even higher by the end of the tournament.
Murray out for "an extended period" with an ankle injury. He confirmed he suffered a full rupture of his anterior talofibular ligament and near full-thickness rupture of his calcaneofibular ligament.
Game, set and match Emma Raducanu 7 - 1. GB take the tie 3 - 1, although not sure why it is team GB in tennis - shouldn't it be Team UK as NI not in GB?
Comments
Emma was determined to keep going today despite the sickness which showed she's got a new determined attitude to battle and fight through adversity.
I said Money wasn't her motivation in playing tennis and there were positives in her two matches in the AO. Her opponent today Wang made few unforced errors other than the 2nd set when Raducanu played some sublime tennis to come back and level the match.
I was more thinking will she keep battling away when she is 24 if she doesn't get back to the elite top 20 and go deep into the second week of slams.
Time is on her side but she does need to get a settled team behind her as she gets rid of more coaches than Watford in her short professional career so far.
I will continue to support her and all the Brits; Jack Draper has similar illness and Injury issues in his career so far.
Ironic that the drop shot that Norrie had used so well with his opponent at the back of the court ended up being his down fall in the tie break and gave the momentum to the German.
Beating Rune in the last round and going to a 5th set tie break against Zverev should give the super fit athlete Cam Norrie confidence for the rest of the season.
Great win for Katie Boulter in San Diego, her first WTA 500 title.
Up to 27 in the world rankings, and on track to be seeded in Paris.
Keep in mind with Jack that he’s about to defend 300pts from Indian Wells. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him slip back out of the top 50 again if he gets unlucky with the draw.
He seems to be the 'Chuks Aneke' of tennis. A decent victory or two then he has to retire in the middle of a match injured.
Delighted for Katie Boulter. I've thought she is a better player than she has delivered for a year or more now.
Murray beats Goffin in straight sets. He will face 5 seed Rublev in the next round.
Draper loses to O’Connell in three sets and will lose 290 ranking points, likely dropping out of the top 50 as quickly as he entered it.
Evans will face Safiullin in the first round and the winner will play Korda in round 2.
Norrie is seeded with a first round bye and will play Sonego or Kecmanovic in round 2.
Boulter beaten in straight sets by Giorgi in round 1.
Raducanu as a wildcard will face qualifier Masarova in round 1, with the winner facing 30th seed Yastremska in round 2.
Jack Draper does find it hard to go deep into a tournament without retiring BUT if it was a stomach upset then at least it wasn't a muscle issue.
Katie Boulter was still on a high from the San Diego 500 win and not surpringly couldn't play like a player now ranked 29 in the world in the quick turn around. At 6ft tall it's no surprise that Katie has a big serve and has a powerful forehand.
The 27 year old could continue to improve IF she stays fit and confident.
Draper up to 38 in the live rankings and Murray now 57. Both have a “free hit” for the rest of the tournament in that they already have surpassed their last year’s performance.
Hopefully they can win a couple more each and climb even higher by the end of the tournament.
Katie Boulter through to last 16 after victory over no 11 seed Maia.
Murray was 5-3 down in the set and had to break serve to stay in the tournament.
Murray out for "an extended period" with an ankle injury. He confirmed he suffered a full rupture of his anterior talofibular ligament and near full-thickness rupture of his calcaneofibular ligament.