“We are here to get through to the finals,” Emma Raducanu confident of England’s chances against Czech Republic in the qualifiers of the BJK Cup
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Emma Raducanu
England will clash swords against the Czech Republic in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in Prague. However, the highlight of this event is British star Emma Raducanu featuring in her debut Billie Jean King Cup for England as they take on the six-time champions, the Czech Republic.
Raducanu technically will have to lead from the front as they face a relatively easier Czech side that does not have players like Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Krejcikova on their roster. So it is an opportunity for Raducanu and the girls to make it count.
The 19-year-old is the highest ranked British player who will take the court against Tereza Martincova. Whereas, Harriet Dart will take on Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Marketa Vondrousova. The opponents will switch as Raducanu will also face the 2019 French Open finalist.
The US Open winner feels that despite starting as underdogs against the Czechs she feels that they have the fighting spirit that will take them to the finals. She said, “We’re here to get through to the Finals and we’re all prepared to fight hard and give our absolute best,” said Raducanu. “We may be the underdogs, but I know the fighting spirit we have and anything can happen.”
“Emma Raducanu needs to embrace her position and lead the team by example,”- England’s captain Anne Keothavong
Although Raducanu has been training very hard in Italy on clay before flying down to Prague. She was training with imminent coach Ricardo Piatti before joining the British player’s camp for the BJK Cup. It is concerning ow Raducanu is not very familiar with clay. But the teenager is hopeful as she admits that featuring in the BJK Cup will be very different from her other experiences.
“This is definitely a different experience and environment to what I am used to,” the teenager continued. “Being in a team is very rare in an individual sport, so it is very nice to play in a team. The atmosphere we have got going off the court is amazing.”
Speaking more on the details that she has learned about the clay court, Raducanu shares how spending more time has made her better as she hopes to learn more about the surface. She remains confident and fully hopes that clay can be a happy hunting ground for her.
“I feel like I do like sliding, and once I time it right and spend more time on clay I’m sure this could be a really good surface for me,” Raducanu shared. “I feel like I have got a lot more potential physically. I’ll learn more about it over time. I feel like I can really use it and play aggressive whilst also being able to move well.”
Lastly Britain’s captain Anne Keothavong also heaped praise on the teenager as she feels that Emma Raducanu winning the US Open has changed the entire dynamics of tennis in Great Britain, Keothaving hopes and wishes that Raducanu will be able to come to terms with the responsibility that she is carrying on her shoulders and embrace it with a lot of poise.
“I guess a lot has happened over the past year and obviously Emma’s success has been highlighted and we’ve seen what she’s been able to achieve in such a short space of time.
“So we’re kind of getting into the unknown a little bit, and there has been a bit of a changing of the guard. I’m sure Emma will embrace her position, lead the team by example and really grow in that role in the years to come,” she signed off.
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