‘One of the greatest achievements’ – Dominic Thiem reacts to Emma Raducanu winning US Open

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Emma Raducanu’s historic US Open triumph has been praised by everyone from the Queen to fellow British tennis star Andy Murray. The 18-year-old made history as the first-ever qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final, before going one better by winning the title. She has now received an endorsement from last year’s men’s champion Dominic Thiem, who heralded her victory as one of the “greatest achievements” in sport.

Raducanu came to New York to compete in the US Open qualifying event, ranked at a then-career high of No.150 in the world.

At the time, she was known for her fairy tale Wimbledon run which saw her storm to the second week of her maiden Grand Slam tournament as a wild card, before retiring in the fourth round with breathing difficulties.

While her run at the All England Club was a big achievement in itself, the Bromley teenager eclipsed those efforts by failing to drop a set through three qualifying rounds and seven main-draw matches in New York.

The victory not only made her the first qualifier, man or woman, in history to win a Major, but also the only player to do so on just their second-ever appearance at Grand Slam level.

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Her improbably achievement has propelled her to the top-end of the rankings, now sitting at world No 23, and to new heights of superstardom.

The 18-year-old has already made her red carpet debut at none other than the most exclusive and prestigious social event, the Met Gala, and has invitations to the likes of the latest James Bond premiere already lined up for her when she returns home.

The win has, of course, also seen her fellow tennis players come out in droves to salute her unprecedented achievement, with the likes of world No.1 Novak Djokovic branding her victory “incredible”.

Another US Open champion has now spoken out on her win, and made a big claim as they called it one of the “greatest” sporting achievements in history.

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“For me, it’s one of the greatest achievements ever in women’s sports,” Thiem told Omnisport.

“It’s an incredible journey if you look at the stats. She didn’t lose one set the whole tournament. She came from qualifying and she didn’t even play one tiebreak.

“That’s simply amazing and something that probably was never witnessed before.”

The world No.8 men’s player, who did not defend his title this year after a wrist injury forced him to end his season early, also praised the young Brit’s game style.

He added: “And also the way she plays, her technique, the way she moves, somehow she brought it up to a new level for the whole game… it was great to see.”

While Raducanu has now skyrocketed to superstardom and will no longer be a lesser-known underdog when she enters tournaments, she still feels no extra pressure and plans to continue playing with nothing to lose.

“For me I don’t feel absolutely any pressure,” she said in her post-match press conference.

“I’m still only 18 years old. I’m just having a free swing as anything that comes my way. That’s how I faced every match here in the States. Yeah, it got me this trophy, so I don’t think I should change anything.”
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