Emma Raducanu makes ‘uncomfortable’ admission, but determined to ‘keep going’
Emma Raducanu concedes her latest defeat to Iga Swiatek shows “the distance that I have to improve”, but don’t for a minute think that she “feels demotivated”.
Defending French Open champion Swiatek produced another masterclass on Court Philippe-Chatrier as he beat the 2021 US Open winner 6-1, 6-2 in a one-sided contest in the second round.
The Pole had been struggling to find form herself in recent weeks as she suffered an early exit from the Italian Open, but the five-time Grand Slam winner has certainly raised her game so far at Roland Garros.
Raducanu feels she was up against it from start to finish.
“I think Iga played really well today. I think every time we have played she plays really well,” the British No 2 said. “It kind of puts really a lot of pressure on from the beginning, makes me feel like I have to maybe do something extra or I just don’t know what to do in the moment.
“I think it does shift the dynamics of the match a bit, and then it’s very difficult to kind of stay with her as she grows in confidence.
“But it just shows, I guess, the distance that I have to improve.”
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Raducanu, who beat Wang Xin in three sets in the first round, was playing at Roland Garros for the first time since her 2022 debut while she made her Chatrier bow on Wednesday, admitting she was not at ease at times.
She added: “It was the first time playing a match on that court. It’s also different when it’s filled and it’s got everything around. You do feel like it’s a big court. It’s … new for me.
“It’s a surrounding that she’s obviously very comfortable with and she’s played in it a lot of times. I think that did emphasise me feeling a bit uncomfortable. But it’s a good experience for if I ever play on that court again.”
The 22-year-old has had some good results so far this season as she reached the quarter-final of the Miami Open while she also made it to the fourth round of the Italian Open.
But focus now switches to the grass-court campaign with Raducanu set to play at Queen’s Club and Berlin ahead of Wimbledon.
“I don’t feel demotivated,” she said. “I feel like since Miami I’ve really started building some momentum compared to where I came from at the start of the year and it makes me just want to keep going after a couple of days off and then get on the grass.”
