"She moved beautifully": Martina Navratilova, Tim Henman in awe of 'really impressive' Emma Raducanu after thumping US Open first-round win

Britain’s Emma Raducanu produced a stunning performance in the opening round of the US Open on Sunday as she cemented her spot in the second round with a thumping win over Ena Shibahara of Japan in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

The match lasted just over one hour, and it was Raducanu’s quickest win in the Grand Slams. Those performances left former world number one Martina Navratilova and former British number one Tim Henman. Both individuals spoke to Sky Sports after the match and praised Raducanu’s performance.

Navratilova called Raducanu’s performance in the match ‘really impressive’ and also highlighted how the former US Open winner ‘looked light on her feet’. “Today she positioned herself for the next shots like she knew she had a radar on her head,” said Navratilova. “She knew what the ball was going to be and that's tennis IQ that's very helpful and she's always had that. Not only was it good but she just looked light on her feet. Easy mover. She moved beautifully forward as well as sideways and it was always on that front foot. So it was really impressive.”

Henman echoed Navratilova’s words and, while praising Raducanu, highlighted how, in his opinion, tennis pundits and fans judged the 22-year-old too early, especially after winning the US Open so early in her career. “I think as Martina said she's looking fitter, stronger and faster and when you add together these pieces of the puzzle that's why she's playing consistently and beating a lot of good players,” said Henman. “I think when you rewind a couple of years ago, when she was having wins on the tour, you sort of felt there was almost an element of surprise. She got another win today whereas now I think with Raducanu's performances again in Washington she beat some very, very good players getting through to the semi-finals. She pushed Sabalenka close you're feeling this is her level. She was close to getting seeded again another couple of months of good performances for sure she's seeded in Australia, then it gives you a little bit more protection in the draw. And it's onwards and upwards.”

He continued by saying: “She's got that experience. I think when people burst onto the scene, and you think about Mboko or you think about Fonseca, you know when do we first judge them and for me, I like it when they played every tournament twice. So when you play for the first time, and it's all new and it's difficult sometimes it goes well. You play with the freedom. Sometimes, you're just inexperienced. Once you've played everything twice, then you can say okay we can assess this. They've made some changes and now I think that's evident with Raducanu. She had some you know injury trouble, she was out of the game for quite some time but now she's been on the tour and you say yeah she's knocking on the door of the top 30. This is accumulative. This is the direction of travel and I think it's looking good.”

After the match, Raducanu shared her point of view in interviews, first on the court and later while talking to Sky Sports. Navratilova highlighted that Raducanu’s interviews after the match show that she is in a good frame of mind. “She was right on the money with her mental state,” said Navratilova. “She's thinking how she's approaching everything. Tt was absolutely perfect. You couldn't have scripted better [during the interview]. The answers that she gave and she's feeling it you know she's not making it up. This is not a canned answer this is how she's feeling. Obviously she sees the results. It's all connected you know. The brain and the body, the emotions and the heart, it's all connected and she's feeling good, she's feeling great.”

Henman further went on to highlight how Raducanu’s flawless display proved too much to handle for Shibahara. Henman stated that while Raducanu’s performance was ‘clinical’ on the day but also highlighted that seeing one-time Grand Slam winner play now shows that she is waiting for an opportunity to showcase her talent at the highest level after spending a lot of time on the tour.

“Let's not forget she's only got to be better than one player today,” said Henman. “Against Shibahara you know she has got you know more shots she's got greater firepower but actually it was just doing the basics well. It was really about making sure that she was consistent, not giving away too many unforced errors and I think that's where you know Raducanu is building this experience. She's been on the tour now for a number of years, she's been playing a lot more. She really stamped her authority on the match and she's just waiting for the opportunity. I think it was a very sort of clinical professional almost experienced performance [from Raducanu]. I was really impressed with her footwork.”