Emma Raducanu has been praised for the way she handled the pressure of Wimbledon, after being knocked out during the first week.
It was not the result that she, and the nation, hoped for as the 19-year-old lost in the second round to Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-3.
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The expectation on Raducanu was huge after her shock US Open victory last September, with the teenager herself labelling the pressure on her ‘a joke’.
Her preparation was not ideal with an injury picked up just a couple of weeks before at the Nottingham Open.
But the teen has been hailed for her supreme mentality to deal with such pressures, in what is still only her first full season on the tour.
Former British tennis player Barry Cowan, who famously took Pete Sampras to five sets at Wimbledon in 2001, told talkSPORT Breakfast: “The biggest strength that Raducanu has is her mentality is off the charts.
“She is a born champion, just the way she thinks, the way she handles things.
“I think she has handled it very well this week at Wimbledon, given the extreme pressure she is under externally but also internally.
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“I must make that point, she expects to win Wimbledon.”
Raducanu’s coaching situation has been a huge talking point in the recent weeks and months.
She has favoured short spells with coaches, splitting from Nigel Sears – Andy Murray’s father-in-law – after Wimbledon last year, then Andrew Richardson after the US Open, and most recently from Torben Beltz after less than five months.
On her coaching situation, Cowan added: “Funnily enough I got into a heated debate about this yesterday.
“How many great tennis players at 19 years of age haven’t had that consistent message for those most important years of 18-22. Very, very few.
“There will always be an exception and what she is trying to do is go against history. It’s very dangerous to go against history if Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray had a constant message – Serena Williams had a father who did that.
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“That is absolutely something she needs to sort out.
“She got to the last-16 at Wimbledon last year, got rid of Nigel Sears, she won the US Open and got rid of her coach.
“She doesn’t have a coach at the moment. Yes, it is important tennis players make their own decisions, but the game needs to improve.
“If her game can improve and work on those aspects that are ultimately with her talent, then she will improve.”
But Cowan urged patience and believed the teenager will be a top player for years to come.
He said: “We shouldn’t worry. She’s 19 years of age.
“If she can have the right people around her to work on her game then in two or three years time she will have no worries at all.”
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Source: TalkSport.com Tennis
