Emma Raducanu vs Serena Williams  Emma serving for the match + post match interviews and highlights

So this, I'm sure, isn't the way she wanted to say goodbye to Cincinnati and the Panic. I think we need to wrap up on that. She's been very consistent with her ball toss on that serve. Not obvious that she's going to go for the slice out wide on the deuce side. Rhythm and timing on serve. She's been very good tonight, I have to say. She was so excited, wasn't she? When the draw came out. It's been a very special 12 months for Emma, but this has been a dream. An unforgettable Cincinnati debut. Keeping it all rather low key, but don't underestimate how good she was tonight. She was cool, she was calm and she was clinical. And in the end, she didn't make it an event. She wins in two sets, 6-4, 6-3, just over the hour. But it's a night that really belongs to Serena Williams. I'm not sure she was really fit enough to play. I think we're very excited to have her here, because it will be the last time. So just one more event for Serena before she brings the curtain down on her career. It wasn't quite what we hoped for, was it? Somewhat sad scenes there. Serena Williams quick to leave the court. No big goodbye. So far off what she would have wanted. And that's going to be pretty sobering. There's an awful lot of work she has to do before Monday night, opening night session at Flushing Meadow. But Emma had a job to do tonight to try and keep her mind as quiet as possible. As Martina was saying in the build-up. And she did exactly that. Let's hear from her now. Emma, first of all, welcome to Cincinnati. Man, talk about debuts. The electricity was pretty high in the air. A pretty special moment, taking on the great Serena Williams. And somehow you managed to keep your composure and pull that off in impressive fashion. How did you do that? Well, I think we all need to just honor Serena and her amazing career. I mean, it was such a great for the experience to be able to play her and for our careers to have crossed over. And everything she has achieved is so inspirational. And yeah, it was a true honor to share the court with her. Emma, this is why you are loved all around the world. Taking the opportunity to honor the great Serena Williams. Deflecting from yourself a little bit, but we've not had a chance to officially say it. So come on Cincinnati, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, Emma Raducanu. Emma, you've heard it a thousand times. Thanks for giving us the chance to say it in person. Still pretty special all these months later, I'm sure. Definitely. I mean, the atmosphere tonight was amazing. And to play with Serena, I mean, for sure. Even when you guys were cheering for her, I was like, you know what, all for it. Yeah, to be honest, I was nervous from the first point to the last point because I know what a champion she is. She can come back from any situation. So I really had to stay focused. And yeah, I'm just so pleased that I managed to keep my composure. Emma Raducanu, Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Emma Raducanu. So all's well that ends well for Emma Raducanu. That was a terrific job as far as the current U.S. Open champion is concerned. But Greg, obviously for everybody here, for Serena Williams in particular, it was not the evening they had in mind. No, it wasn't. Serena got off to the worst possible start. She didn't know which racket tensions to play with. She changed her racket midway through, got one of the break back. And then all of a sudden, you know, 5-4 was a huge game for Emma. Once she won the opening set 6-4, it was one way traffic. If Serena's going to have any sort of run in New York, she's got to improve out of sight. Because it's not the Serena Williams we're used to seeing. But it was a very, very good performance from Emma. Yeah, let's start with the positives there. Because Raducanu, OK, she came into this match with no real pressure on her shoulders. And yet, obviously, she wanted to go out and demonstrate that she didn't just produce one of the great sporting flukes of all time in New York last year. Well, I've seen some improvements in her game, actually. I really liked the serve out wide on the deuce side to Serena's forehand today. I thought her tactics were good, standing a little further back on the return to serve to buy herself more time. So I think there was a lot of positives there. And, you know, she's hired Dmitriy Chursanov on a two-week trial. And I've seen areas in her game which seem to be a little bit better. I just hope they stay together for a long period of time. Because it's about consistency for Emma. And if she gets the consistency, she will get back to where she was. Really threatening at tournaments and at slams. So there was a lot of positives for me from tonight. As far as Serena is concerned, though, you said the serve was going to be crucial. We wondered about the movement. Were there any positives at all for her? It was too patchy. You know, Martina Navratilova made an excellent point off-camera. She said to me, to play that sort of game is very, very difficult to take it that early. I'm just going to pause you for a moment, Greg, because down courtside, Martina has been joined by Emma. So, Emma, how old were you when you first became aware of Serena Williams? I think from the moment you start playing tennis, you're aware of Serena Williams. I was five when I started. And, obviously, she was dominating the game, I'm sure. And I have amazing first memories of her, watching her at Wimbledon. And, yeah, it was just amazing to share the court with her. So, winning the ES Open, a lot of pressure on you. You have not had the best year, but today you played like the ES Open. How much had to do with Serena Williams? How much had to do with just you being ready for the Open? Well, I think that the whole year, you know, it hasn't been the best year, of course. But I, from every experience, have taken something. And I think that, you know, it was about to happen at some point. You don't really just go from nothing in the 25s to winning a slam without going through the stages. And I think that I definitely went through that this year. And to have such great fortune that I had at the US Open, I think that to have a tough year, you know, I actually, on the court, in the match point, was expecting to have, you know, for it to be difficult. You were up 4-1, 40-15 on your serve, lost two serves. She comes back to 4-3, started playing really well. How did you manage to keep it together? Because the crowd was getting into it, and you had the best serving game at that point. What was going through your mind at that point? Yeah, I think I went up love 30 when I was broken. And then she hit, like, you know, four great serves, plus ones or two aces in that game. And, I mean, to be expected, you let up a little bit against Serena, and she's going to take advantage. And with the crowd getting involved, yeah, I just had to stay composed and just accept that that was the situation. And keep focused on my next service game, because I already had another break. Well, congratulations. You played great. If you keep going like this, I think I have high hopes for you at the US Open. Azarenka next. What do you think about that one? Yeah, of course. I mean, it's difficult all round, isn't it? You're playing one slam champ to another. But, yeah, it's going to be a tricky match, and I know she returns great. I also watched her growing up. I watched her in the US Open during the pandemic, when I was probably sitting my exams, and I was like, one day I'll get on that court. Well, you're going to be there tomorrow or the next day, probably. Well, good luck, and continue good luck. Thank you so much. Well, a bubbly Emma Vaducanu, and why not? Maybe this win at Sydney will kick-start her campaign at just the right time with the US Open around the corner. And Victoria Azarenka, we think, in the night session tomorrow. So she's getting a close-up look at two of the recent greats. I mean, Azarenka's had her moments here in particular as well, hasn't she? Azarenka's a class player. I mean, she's won, I believe, a total of four slams, two Australians, two US Opens. She can play. I mean, she's got game. This is a step-up of class against Serena, because Vika's movement is still exceptional, counter-punching very similar games out there. So if Raducanu can win that one tomorrow, that would be a heck of an effort. And if she gets through there, it could be Pogula, the number one American. So you've got to do it the hard way in Cincinnati. But today, I saw a lot of positives. Well, let's look back at the story of a match that nobody quite knew what was going to happen within it. And obviously, there was a fear that perhaps because Serena had an injury concern come into this one. She'd only played three matches in 13 months. She was going to be rusty. Would Raducanu be able to take advantage of that? And very early on, we saw that the answer was an emphatic yes. Well, I think what impressed me the most was the strategy. You could see a clear plan there. And that is the most important thing, is having good tactics. Standing a little further back on the returner serve to buy herself time in the rally. On top of that, where she put her serve placements. And I just think tactically, she was very astute, very clear-minded. And she didn't panic out there, even when she lost her serve in that opening setup after being up two breaks. And you see, we talked about the serve out wide. That was key. And look at the position on the returner. A little further back, buying herself some time, even though she got aced on that. Giving Serena different looks out there. That was so important. And the movement was very, very good from Raducanu. You know, this is where Serena's starting to pounce to get back into it. And this is where Serena, you're thinking, OK, gets one of the breaks back. This could get very interesting. Yeah, there were definite signs at this stage that a great player was coming to life. And perhaps that will give Raducanu even more encouragement. That was just about the first unforced error she was guilty of. It was. And, you know, you're going to have a lapse in this match. And she only lost serve on one occasion. If we look at her statistics as well, first serve points 176, second serve 75. That is exceptional, with only losing your serve on one occasion. And, you know, Serena asked to serve it out question. And Raducanu, you know, even though she doesn't break here, she serves it out so, so well. Well, let me go back to the question I posed to you just before Emma joined Martina on court. It wasn't a great night as far as Serena is concerned. Did you see enough to make you feel that if she can get in a lot of good practice sessions between now and the start of the U.S. Open, she can at least be a lot more competitive than she was this evening? Well, let's hope she can be because she's got to up her level to have any sort of run in New York. And, you know, she was supposed to do an on-court interview after the end of the match, but she didn't actually do it because the fact she was so disappointed with her performance, especially in that second set. She put the scoreline six-love with Serena Williams. That just doesn't sound right in this second set where Raducanu really just dominated throughout. Yeah, and I think the measure of the disappointment Serena felt at the end of this is that she didn't hang around and give a little speech, which was in our running order. And we noticed that they put a microphone stand on the court. Serena was expected to say a few words. Even if she lost, they were going to present her with a bottle of champagne. But as soon as she'd shaken hands with Raducanu, she couldn't wait to get off the court. And I guess that's understandable in the circumstances. Well, it is understandable, you know, because the way that second set went away. And, you know, I remember the last time I saw Serena Williams in seven straight games in a row, especially on a hard court. She's such a great champion. And obviously the disappointment there. The competitor is still there. Yes, we would have liked to see her at least say a few words to the crowd who came out to see her tonight. But you understand the disappointment. Yeah. And we will now see if Raducanu can kick on from here. This was an interesting one for her. The crowd, as she acknowledged there in that very clever little on-court interview and also with Martina. You know, of course they were cheering Serena. She understood that. Maybe a similar situation tomorrow night against Azarenka, I don't know. But maybe this will just flick the switch at such an important stage in the season for her. Well, let's hope so. Tomorrow is going to be very important for Emma. If she can win tomorrow, she's getting her mojo back. Things are starting to go in the right direction. And you want to win a few back-to-back matches because that has happened very rarely this year. She's now 12 and 14 with 12 wins and 14 losses. And you've got to do a few matches in a row to get some momentum against the very best. And if you beat Serena, Vika, and even if she doesn't beat Bogula and she gets to the third round, that'll still be a nice lead up into New York. I tell you what, Martina is still fit because she's made it back up the stairs. Come in, Martina, join us. And that's impressive because there's a lot of stairs to get up. She took the elevator. That's why I'm not out of breath. I was assuming you'd run without sweating or anything else. Overall reflections on that one as far as you're concerned. So, A plus to Emma Raducanu. Because she played well from the very beginning. She got up that double break, then lost the serve, lost the momentum. The crowd was getting really into it. And she held her nerve so well. And her serve. Served it at love and again at 5'4". Serena Williams looked like a 40-year-old who hasn't played that many matches. So, this is when the match play really comes into play. Even if you practice and you're moving well and you're feeling good, the pressure of the moment on top of that retiring. So, that's a pressure that she's never faced before. So, that's new. And the expectations are still high. And then you just get so nervous you can't move. And of course, she played an opponent who played extremely well. So, Serena Williams has a lot of work to do if she wants to compete at the US Open and do well. But again, I think this is a combination. Serena not playing that well. But more because Emma did not let her play well. She just kept the pressure on. I want to add one more point you made. I think you made an exceptional point when you walked downstairs. You said it's very difficult for Serena to play her A game and take it on the rise early with very few matches. I think that was very poignant and we saw that tonight. Yeah, the timing was off. I mean, she got it back a little bit when she had time. But on the return of serve, she never really fired up on that second serve return. And most of all, I was surprised how badly she was doing on her own second serve. I think Serena has not seen people getting her balls back with such ease, covering the court so well. When she gets on the offensive, usually she wasn't getting it from Emma because Emma reads the ball really well and can handle the pace. But yes, the timing wasn't there and it cannot be there. It cannot be there when you haven't played enough. No, so what can she do between now and the US Open to make sure this sort of result doesn't happen again in the first round there? She needs to hit more balls on the run and hit more balls inside the court to get the timing. You can get it back, but you have to do a lot of reps in practice so that when you play the match and the nerves come into it, you still trust that it's going to be there. But would you say not to play a lot of practice sets? You know, she can do all the drills she wants, but just play practice match after practice match after practice match. She needs a good seven, eight practice matches, two out of three sets to be match sharp. Because, you know, the girls in the locker room will look at themselves and say, hey, she lost in Toronto easy. Radicaner destroyed her. And, you know, that aura that she had for 20 years, all of a sudden it dissipates very quickly. But you still can't discount her because when you do that, great champions, they always find a way. I hope she lifts for the U.S. Open. At least wins one match there. Yeah, well, fingers crossed. And of course, you'll be able to see exactly what happens at the U.S. Open right here on Prime Video. But tonight belongs to Emma Badukana. There is a lot of work for Serena to do between now and the final Grand Slam of 2022.