"She won because players like Sakkari could not step up" says Mats Wilander on Emma Raducanu's US Open triumph

Emma Raducanu shocked the world when she bulldozed her way to the US Open final where she proved better than Leylah Fernandez.

It was an amazing achievement that left everyone stunned including Mats Wilander who followed the event closely. The Swedish player is no stranger to shocking the world as he did as a 17-year old in 1982 when he won his first grand slam at the French Open. Speaking on Raducanu and her trajectory he said:

“For her (Raducanu), getting the fourth round of Wimbledon was amazing, but I think she needs a few more matches under her belt so the locker room sees she can be good, even on her worse day. We were looking for stories on the women’s side of the game and then we had Naomi Osaka before Emma and Leylah Fernandez came along. The way they behaved on court stole everybody’s heart and it was too good to be true."

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Asked whether something contributed to Raducanu winning it as opposed to a more experienced player Wilanders did not shy away from admitting as much bluntly saying:

"Some of the players she faced along the way like Maria Sakkari, this was their chance and they couldn’t step up to the plate. You can have a good two weeks on tour these days and it was much harder to do that years ago when power was not an issue.”