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Former British No. 1 Tim Henman suggested just making a US Open debut would be enough to make Emma Raducanu happy. Raducanu won three qualifying matches and then seven main draw matches at the US Open to become the first qualifier ever to win a Grand Slam.
"If you had said to Emma and Andrew before qualifying 'would you sign a document to guarantee winning three qualifying matches but lose in the first round of the main draw?' I think there is a fair chance both would have signed on the dotted line," Henman said, per Tennis Up To Date.
Raducanu's physio Will Herbert said Raducanu was exhausted and their goal was to just make her past the qualifying. "My memory of seeing Emma for the first time in New York is that her body was toast. She was exhausted. She had some pretty successful weeks in Chicago so her body was a bit of a mess.
Our initial aim was to get her through 'quallies' That's where we felt she was. The mobility in her back had gone and muscles were fatigued. Our aim was to try and restore normal movement," Herbert said.
Raducanu admitted she was pretty tired
Raducanu arrived to New York tired and exhausted but she won each of ther 10 matches in straight sets.
"I arrived in New York just hoping to get through qualifying maybe. I was pretty tired. I just had the most amazing time and I think the key to that was I just focused on the day," Raducanu told Sky News. "The time flew by, It went so fast by the end of it I was like, 'I don't wanna leave yet, I wanna stay', and it was getting to the latter stages of the tournament and I was thinking, 'but, what if? You're here, so why not?' But no one made a big deal of it."