Emma Raducanu has revealed what she believes to be her secret weapon after knocking out WTA #9 Maria Sakkari at Wimbledon.
Raducanu also defeated Sakkari in the semis of the 2021 US Open as she marched toward her maiden major title in New York to create history.
In their rematch at All England Club, the Greek once couldn’t hold back the motivated Brit as the latter only lost five games under the roof on Center Court to remind the critics of her special talent with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 triumph.
Having not beaten a top 10 player in her career, the 2021 US Open Champion has now compiled two top 10 wins in a two weeks’ time while also equaling her best run at home slam which she recorded in her breakthrough season three years ago.
It all became a bit too much to handle for the 18-year-old at that time as she retired with breathing issues against Ajla Tomljanovic in the R4. However, the WTA #135 appears to be more composed player right now as she endured tough three years since clinching her first title in New York.
Raducanu next faces a surprise qualifier from New Zealand Lulu Sun to enter last 8 of the event while her win against Sakkari has secured her a top 100 spot.
The precocious Brit has revealed what she believes has given her an advantage over her rivals on big stages of the game.
“I think naturally that’s always been one of my big strengths, the big points,” declared Raducanu.
“I step up and I thrive and I love the challenge and trying to overcome it.
“I think that’s something I did since a young age, very much so.
“I think in the last couple years, I don’t think I was playing those big points in the same way. I wasn’t as aggressive. I was more passive.
“I think I’m playing such a top opponent like Maria, she’s not going to give me the match or give me an error. I know I have to go for it.
“Anyone at this level of the tournament is the same. You just have to take the opportunities while you have them.
“I think after a lot of losses just on a regular tour, it’s very difficult sometimes to stay in the moment, keep working, get back up, just keep doing your thing.
“You have to have in the back of your mind at some point it’s going to pay off and you just don’t know when.
“I’m very happy that a lot of the work I’ve been doing has compounded and has been able to show this week.”
As Raducanu appears to be a favorite in her matchup against Lulu Sun, the hype around her Wimbledon ambitions will inevitably seize the media in UK, but she is trying to avoid any suggestion of becoming the first British winner of the women’s singles since Virginia Wade’s historic triumph on Center Court in 1977.
“I think also for me to be winning that match against a top-10 opponent on Centre Court, it’s a beautiful feeling and one that I really want to savour,” she added.
“Tennis is pretty brutal in the way you have to enjoy it tonight and then tomorrow you’re already thinking about the next one. It’s just like that.
“You can win the tournament but you can lose first round the next week. It’s the sport. I’m just trying to cherish every moment I have here.
“I’m very grateful just being healthy. I think I missed the feeling of being on the grounds very much. I think it was really painful last year coming here and not being able to compete, being on the other side of it.
“I think that feeling has been pulling me through a lot this week. Just remembering how I felt then, bringing it back to the present.
“I’ve just been having so much fun that I really just want to stay. I don’t want to go home. It’s a good, different type of motivation.”
Raducanu appears to be on a mission to revive her status as one of the big stars of women’s side of the tour and it seems all the negative energy around her that troubled the Brit during last couple of years has finally begun to vanish.