Look back at Raducanu's US Open triumph with Tim Henman

The former British number one was there following every moment of it including the final that he watched from the stands. Looking back at that moment Henman is pretty sure nobody in Raducanu's camp thought it remotely possible. He said:

"If you had said to Emma and Andrew before qualifying 'would you sign a document to guarantee winning three qualifying matches but lose in the first round of the main draw?' I think there is a fair chance both would have signed on the dotted line."

Henman is not wrong in that, as Raaducanu herself expressed disbelief after each win in the main round. The interesting tidbit is the fact that Raducanu's toughest match came in the 2nd round of the qualifiers where she had to play 3 sets. Recently Raducanu admitted that she was very tired upon arrival to New York and her physio Will Herbert agrees.

He said:

"My memory of seeing Emma for the first time in New York is that her body was toast. She was exhausted. She had some pretty successful weeks in Chicago so her body was a bit of a mess. Our initial aim was to get her through 'quallies'. That's where we felt she was. The mobility in her back had gone and muscles were fatigued. Our aim was to try and restore normal movement."

Hemna was very impressed by Raducanu and her level of play. He feels the conditions suited her as well:

"One element that struck me immediately was the level of her play. The conditions were quite quick, the ball was lively, but the way she was hitting and moving, dictating play, was very impressive from someone ranked 150th in the world."

Ultimately she was able to sustain that level and complete the fairytale.