Emma Raducanu Wins Thriller On Her Roland Garros Debut
Roland Garros
May 23, 2022
Emma Raducanu showed all the mental toughness she needs to cope with the pressures of superstardom.
Wimbledon 2022 will give Raducanu even more opportunity to demonstrate her big-time temperament.
Her first match at Roland Garros certainly tested her character in front of a boisterous French crowd.
Raducanu fell a set behind to a 17-year-old Czech called Linda Noskova.
To make matters worse, Emma was a break ahead in the opener and also the tie-break, only to squander her lead on both occasions.
Lesser women might have buckled under the sheer weight of expectation.
Indeed Noskova was still hitting more cleanly for much of the second set as Raducanu fed the underdog’s powerful backhand.
Emma admitted: ‘She was all over me when my ball speed dropped at the end of the first and she was absolutely killing me. It was a real battle.’
But Raducanu dug in when it really mattered to turn the middle set around just when the exit door was beckoning.
And there was only going to be one winner in the decider as the US Open champion showed her superior stamina and mental strength.
After taking the match 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-1 a delighted Raducanu milked the applause of an appreciative audience.
Asked what she expected of herself for the rest of the French Open, Raducanu made sure she didn’t invite any more unwanted pressure.
‘I have zero expectations of myself,’ she said. ‘I have done well to get here after Rome.’
Emma had suffered from back trouble at the last tournament – but there was no sign of that in Paris.
Instead she can be proud of the way she fought back to stay in yet another prestigious Grand Slam.
Emma Raducanu will be a sheer delight to watch at Wimbledon 2022!
And her compatriots Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans are also in superb form.
Norrie gradually silenced the French spectators with his straight-sets demolition of Manuel Guinard.
The British number one got better and better to win through 7-5, 6-2, 6-0.
And Dan Evans defeated Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4 after a monumental tussle in the opener.
The Brits are going to be wonderful to follow at Wimbledon 2022.
And defending champion Novak Djokovic will likely do battle with Rafael Nadal at the business end in London, with new sensation Carlos Alcaraz always in the hunt.
Will you be coming to Wimbledon 2022 in Centenary Year? It will be truly historic!