Emma Raducanu called ‘unbelievable’ by her idol as Simona Halep makes prediction
Queen stayed up late to watch Emma Raducanu win says Levin
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Simona Halep was unequiovical in her praise of Emma Raducanu during the Transylvania Open. The Romanian called the teen “unbelievable” and made a bold prediction regarding the US Open champion’s future.
The two-time grand slam champion spoke prior to her defeat to Anett Kontaveit in the final of her home tournament, and explained what makes Raducanu such an excellent player.
“What she achieved is unbelievable and it’s all credit to her because she played so well and she played so many matches,” Halep said when discussing her historic US Open success.
“I think her mentality was very strong and also her game. She showed great tennis, very fast, very close to the baseline and I think her movement was also great.”
The 30-year-old added: “She’s already achieved the Grand Slam title so she’s able to achieve everything.
“She now has the experience of winning the biggest tournament in tennis so I think she can easily make the top 10 and I think sooner than everyone else thinks because she’s already close to that.
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“She has a bright future and for sure she will be one of the best players in the world.”
The former world number one says Brits should continue to cherish Raducanu and her historic US Open win as she continues to adapt to the pressure of playing on the WTA tour.
Halep added: “The pressure is not great for a player, even if she’s so young she feels the pressure is normal, everybody does.
“You guys better enjoy her results, her tennis, the way she is, because she’s super nice, and wait for her to grow up at this level because she just jumped after doing something great.
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“She will probably need some time to see how it is every week and then she will become much stronger.”
Raducanu secured her first WTA tournament win in Cluj with a hard fought win over Polona Hercog in the first round and backed it up with an impressive win over Ana Bogdan in straight sets.
She eventually lost to Marta Kostyuk in the quarter-finals, but the Brit has something to build on ahead of her next tournament.
After her 57-minute defeat Raducanu said: “I was quite tired and lethargic but all credit to Marta.
“I wasn’t physically feeling 100%. I knew from practice that I was tired, and couldn’t get it going.
“It’s disappointing that you have these days, it’s not a nice feeling to have. I just need to move on from it and brush it off and then I’ll be back in another tournament soon.”
“It’s been a lot of learning and I have experienced a lot with no gaps,” she added.
“I’m just adapting to the fast-paced life of the tour and still very new to it. It’s still going to take me some time to adjust.”
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