"People are going to talk regardless of what you do" - Raducanu dismisses criticism

| by Kadir Macar

No. 10 seed Emma Raducanu defeated Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the round of 16 of the Western & Southern Open.

This impressive victory follows another one a day earlier when the Brit beat Serena Williams in similar emphatic passion. It demonstrated the highest level of tennis Raducanu showed in a very long time. It's a product of her understanding of how to better block out the noise and focus on tennis.

“I think I’ve realised in the last year people are going to talk regardless of what you do,” admitted Raducanu while adding: “Things I do are more amplified of my situation. I’ve learned to zone in internally. Today and yesterday I didn’t show any emotion, I didn’t let myself get high or low, I was one level, I think that helped.”

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During the on-court interview, Raducanu find herself at the end of an uncomfortable joke with the interviewer suggesting that wins like these against legends were a bit disrespectful. She had no reaction to it but delivered a complimentary message.

“It was another great honour to play Vika, she’s won so many championships. It’s a great opportunity for me to be out here", said Raducanu also adding: "I was playing a great match, for sure. To play Vika I had to stay really focused throughout. I could feel the important moments and a couple of turning points that could have made the second set more difficult than it already was.”

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