Emma Raducanu responds to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and explains favourite football team

Emma Raducanu reacts to messages from the royal family

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Emma Raducanu has revealed she’s ‘grateful’ following praise from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. The Brit recently etched her name into the history books by winning the US Open, beating Leylah Fernandez. And many are tipping her to have a bright future in the sport.

Raducanu enjoyed a spectacular US Open campaign, winning the tournament without dropping a single set.

And, following her exploits in New York, Liverpool boss Klopp hailed her by saying: “I watched the final, and it was absolutely impressive.

“It’s been a long time since I watched a full women’s tennis game, to be honest, and I was really impressed by the power, speed, and the whole game.

“Women’s tennis is obviously in a brilliant moment.

“These two girls were 18 and 19, and what they showed was massively impressive.

“Both during the game itself, and then during the trophy ceremony. Both girls, how they spoke, at 18 or 19, that was inspiring to be honest, even more so than the tennis!

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“I was absolutely overwhelmed by the way the two girls presented themselves.

“Fernandez was obviously disappointed, rightly so, after losing the game, but Emma showed great respect for her.

“They know and hope they will face each other many more times in the future, many more finals I wish for them as well.

“It was just a great show of sportsmanship, elite sport, how humble you can be when you are that young and already on top of the world. It was really nice.

“That’s what you can take from it. If you are 18 years old and you win the US Open, there is one thing that has obviously happened in the last 10-15 years; hard work.

“She is for sure the talent of the century, but without hard work it is not possible to be there.

“To see her there and smiling during the game, it really was the nicest thing I could imagine. I will for sure watch women’s tennis much more now than I did in the last few years.”

And Raducanu has now thanked Klopp for his praise, telling Sky Sports: “It’s very, very nice to hear and I’m very grateful.

“I think that women’s tennis at the moment is extremely strong and the game has all of the players who can win pretty much every event and I’m really grateful to Mr Jurgen Klopp for his comment.”

When asked if she supported a football team, she then joked ‘my favourite team is England’ and suggested she wouldn’t delve deeper into who she follows at club level.

Raducanu also spoke to BBC News, too, and explained how nervous she was before her victory over Fernandez last Saturday.

“It means a lot, so thanks to everybody who watched me and supported me,” she said.

“For me, the most important thing was to stay relaxed in the moment because there was a lot of stake in the final.

“It’s very important not to get ahead of yourself and treat every shot one at a time.

“Before the match, I was nervous.

“I felt like something was a little bit off and I couldn’t put my finger on what that was.

“I think that’s just usual nerves, because of the occasion.

“But then, once I got on the court, I treated it like every other match and focused on the plan I was going to execute.”

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