RADUCANU’S IN PATIENT MOOD
EMMA RADUCANU has appealed for “patience” before seeking her first win since her US Open triumph at the Transylvania Open this afternoon. The Bromley sensation, 18, lost in the first round at the BNP Paribas Open in California and is now playing in her father Ian’s homeland of Romania without a coach. And before her first match in Europe as a Major champion, she said she needed more time to adjust.
from NEIL MCLEMAN in Cluj-napoca, Romania
“I don’t think there is any pressure on me,” she said. “I feel like everyone should be a little patient with me. I am going to find my tennis, I just need a little bit of time.
“I kinda went from zero to the top of the game. Although things have happened rather fast, I am learning a lot. The biggest thing is to be patient with myself.
“It’s going to take some time to adjust and adapt but hopefully with some good work I will be able to do that.
“Patience is key. There are a lot of lows where you learn about your game and that not everything goes smoothly. You adjust to each level gradually.”
The British No.1 will face world No.123 Polona Hercog, the Slovenian who has won only four matches this year.
And the world No.23 said: “New York was great while it lasted but now I am looking ahead and I want to get better.
“The exciting thing is I still feel I have a lot of room to improve. I am really enjoying my tennis right now.”
The event started without fans yesterday and a 9pm curfew on bars and restaurants came into force last night because of rising national Covid-19 levels.