Andy Murray believes
Emma Raducanu will handle increased expectations very well after showing herself to be very well grounded and smart.
In an interview with Eurosport at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition, an event Raducanu was forced to miss after contracting Covid-19, three-time Slam champion Andy Murray said:
“I feel like because she won the US Open and won a Grand Slam at 18,
that for a period of time I imagine the press would be quite lenient
with her. There will be certain stages in her career, certainly around
Wimbledon and the grass-court season where the expectations are
extremely high. There’ll be a lot of pressure there. I know that that’s obviously something that’s difficult to deal with. I’m sure she’ll be able to deal with it, but it’s not easy."
Murray fully understands how it is to become a person of interest for a whole nation. He explained remembering his own example at Wimbledon:
“She’s unbelievably well-grounded. She’s very, very smart. I’m sure she’ll be absolutely fine, but it’s not easy. I certainly didn’t have it to the degree that she’s had it but when I
played Wimbledon the first time I went from nobody knowing me or
watching my matches to being on the front page of the newspapers and
being followed around for a period of time and it’s like overnight, it’s
kind of life-changing."
He summed it up with:
“And that’s the same thing that’s happened to her but on a much
grander scale. So I know that that must be very difficult for her.
“It’s just important that you have your family and your team and
everyone around you and that they’re the ones that you listen, and to
try your hardest to block the rest.”