"Honestly I felt like I was playing at home": Emma Raducanu expresses surprise after receiving crowd support against American Stearns

Britain’s young tennis star Emma Raducanu has expressed surprise at receiving a lot of support from the home crowd during the Citi Open in Washington. The 21-year-old booked her place in the quarterfinal of the mega-event after beating home favourite Peyton Stearns in straight sets in the round of 16 clash, 7-6, 6-2.

Raducanu, talking after the match, admitted that she was a bit surprised after getting a lot of support from the home fans. She even stated that she felt like playing at home and thanked the crowd for all the support she had during the contest.

“It’s tricky today, when you get rained off at such a big moment like that,” she said. “It can affect the dynamics of the match. I think I did a pretty good job of coming out pretty strong and toughing out that tiebreak. In the second set I was playing much better. I want to thank everyone's patience and waiting for the end of that match. I knew it was going to be a tough match against Peyton, especially playing at home, but I want to thank everyone for their support because honestly I felt like I was playing at home too."

Raducanu, who was once regarded as the next big thing after winning the US Open at the age of just 18 in 2021 after beating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3, is going through a mixed campaign. The Toronto-born star, who returned to the court earlier this year after spending a lot of time on the sidelines because of fitness concerns, will be playing in her fourth quarterfinal in Washington. In the earlier three quarterfinals, she once ended up on the winning side and suffered defeats in the other two. The only quarterfinal where she had a positive result came in the Nottingham Open, but it was down to her opponent’s withdrawal from the contest.