Emma Raducanu reveals she is ‘working really well’ with coach Nick Cavaday
Emma Raducanu has labelled her first round victory in Stuttgart as a ‘milestone moment’, with the Brit reflecting on changes over the past year.
Raducanu beat former world No.1 Angelique Kerber, 6-2 6-1, following on from her success with Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup at the weekend.
It was the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart last year where Raducanu lost in the opening round by the exact same scoreline, before undergoing surgeries to both wrists and her left ankle, meaning that she would miss the rest of the season.
And the 21-year-old has spoken about how she feels looking back on last year,Ā “It’s a bit of a milestone moment for me, and I just feel like I have come a long way in that year.”
Raducanu began working with childhood coach Nick Cavaday upon her return to the WTA Tour, and has detailed how that partnership is going.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tired, but I would way rather be in this position where I have played a lot of matches and I’m feeling fatigued than being super fresh and losing,” claimed Raducanu. “It’s funny, because you always want something that you can’t have.
“But I am playing some really good tennis. I feel like I’m playing level-wise, I knew it before I went to Fed Cup (Billie Jean King Cup) even, like, training, I was playing really well. I think everyone that I was practicing with can attest to that too.”
The 2021 US Open champion added, “I think it’s a combination of doing good practice weeks, doing the right things, I am really enjoying working with Nick my coach. It’s great to have a familiar face, but we are also working really well together as a team.”
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— Emma Raducanu (@EmmaRaducanu) May 15, 2023
With Raducanu starting to find some form, the current world No.303 has reflected on the improvements she has made to her game, “I think my serve is more of a weapon now. I think last weekend I played some great tennis. Obviously, it wasn’t a lot of time to turn over since last weekend.
“Going back up again tomorrow, it’s more just a challenge of the body, I’d say, but I think I’m mentally in a good place. I’m taking a lot of confidence from the training I’m doing. I feel like I can actually lean on that more so now because I’m actually doing the work, whereas last year it was very difficult.”
Raducanu will take on Linda Noskova for a place in the Stuttgart quarter-finals later this evening, with their only previous meeting coming in the first round of Roland Garros 2022, with the former getting the victory in a three set contest.
Inside the baseline…
Emma Raducanu is definitely looking more of a threat over the past week, and seems to really be finding her feet on the clay, despite not being so familiar with the surface. It will be interesting to see how she recovers in time for the match against Linda Noskova, with it likely to be a hard-hitting contest between the two young stars. The main thing is that Raducanu continues to stay healthy and can enjoy a full season, gradually building her way back up the rankings.
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