Chouchou du public britannique, Emma Raducanu a bien lancé son Wimbledon lundi. La joueuse de 21 ans n'avait pas été gâtée au tirage puisqu'elle devait écarter Ekaterina Alexandrova (n°22), très en forme sur gazon depuis le début de la tournée. Finalement, malade, la Russe a déclaré forfait. C'est Renata Zarazua qui a récupéré le spot. La Mexicaine n'a logiquement pas été à la hauteur, et Raducanu, à domicile, a assuré la victoire, 7-6(0), 6-3. Le niveau s'élèvera ensuite face à Elise Mertens. L'occasion de se tester et de peut-être faire vibrer le public londonien.
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00:00Emma, do you feel good to get the win under your belt?
00:06Very much so. I'm very pleased with that. It's never easy playing a first round and especially on centre court, you know, there's a lot of emotions that go with it.
00:17Yeah, and I'm just very pleased with the way I fought against a very tough opponent.
00:22Hi Emma, there's no doubt the crowd is behind you today with words of encouragement and lots of applause.
00:29How did that help you through the tough moments and how did it feel to have such a big fan base behind you?
00:37Yeah, it was nice. I had a few friends and family here, so it was really nice to have them in the crowd and looking up to them and hearing them and also, you know, the crowd.
00:48It's nothing really compares to playing on centre court. I think it's a lot of emotions and nerves go with that, but also a lot of support.
00:57And I think that in some crucial moments today, it was really beneficial and really helpful to have a lot of people cheering for me, rooting for me.
01:06And when I made the last drop shot in the last game, I really felt the crowd erupt.
01:11So that was, yeah, that feeling. I definitely missed that last year.
01:16Congrats Emma. She's obviously a completely different opponent to Alexandra.
01:20Just wondering, what is it actually like when the opponent changes on the day and how do you get your head around that and plan for the new one?
01:28Yeah, it's really difficult. I think with the notice, it was only, you know, a few hours really.
01:33So when you've prepped the last, since the draw came out to play one person and then, you know, it's a complete different style of player as well.
01:43You've worked on things specific, but I think it's all about just competing at the end of the day.
01:50And I think mental, when it's such short notice, you just have to keep your head together and just, yeah, stay calm.
01:59Try not let, you know, the external circumstances throw you too much, but it is difficult.
02:04And I think you're just a little bit more on edge, but I think I managed to deal with it really well today.
02:13Do you think they should change that rule maybe? Because in theory, she could have pulled out like 10 minutes before the match pretty much and you'd have had to play a lucky loser.
02:20Maybe a minimum time between them pulling out and you playing, or maybe you just get a walkover if they pull out within a couple of hours.
02:26Well, I think it's difficult because I've been in the, you know, player side and you're always hoping, you know, when I wake up in the morning, I'm going to feel a lot better.
02:36Whether it's with illness, whether it's with injury, you feel like, okay, I'm going to see how it is in the morning.
02:42So I think it is good how it is. To be honest, it's just more having to deal with those consequences.
02:50Charlie?
02:53I just wondered, given the way you're playing, if you had any particular expectations?
02:59As I said in the first press conference, I'd be over the moon if I won my first round here, and I really am.
03:05I think I feel, you know, just the joy to be on site, the joy to be part of the buzz. I'm really just enjoying myself.
03:13And I think that each match I win should be celebrated a lot. I think for me, because I know how hard matches to win are to come by.
03:24And I think that now, yeah, having had a few wins under my belt, I'm like really cherishing every single one because I know how difficult it is to be on the flip side of it.
03:34And results-wise, I have no expectations. I just have expectations of myself to really put myself on the line on the court and fight and not let any frustrations get to me.
03:46Molly?
03:48Slightly different to that then, on the subject of playing a lucky loser, did you remember that in your first round at the US Open when you won, you also played a lucky loser?
03:56I wonder if you see that as a good omen for how this fortnight could go?
04:00I mean, of course, I haven't played a lucky loser very often. But last time when I played in the US Open, I think I knew at least the day before.
04:10So it was like I had more prep time. But I think it is also different just the scenarios. I also wasn't opening centre court.
04:19So I know there is a lot more that goes with it. But I mean, for sure, it did pop into my head a little bit.
04:26Emma, you've been through an awful lot since the last time you played Wimbledon. Can you describe in a bit more detail the feeling of walking back onto centre court?
04:34Yeah, I think the feeling of walking onto centre court especially is powerful. It's like that moment where you say bye to your team and everyone and you go and you're on your own.
04:45And it's like, okay, like you feel like you're completely alone. And I think that it's something that you need to just take in your stride.
04:54I don't know one person who's probably playing their first round feeling unbelievable about themselves and like not nervous at all.
05:00And I think nerves are normal. It's just how you use them and how you kind of channel that.
05:05And I think today, yeah, it was noticeable in the first set. I felt nervous, but especially against that type of opponent who's fighting incredibly hard, who has zero to lose.
05:17Like coming in as a lucky loser on centre court, it's pretty special to have. But I think that I dealt with it really well, to be honest.
05:27And she just made some incredible gets, like really, really good defence. And yeah, I wish her luck really in the rest of the season.
05:38Emma, you mentioned the football on court. Obviously, you know what it's like to have a lot of expectation and pressure on your shoulders.
05:46I just wonder when you watch another sport like football or whatever, are you able to just watch as a fan?
05:52Or do you sort of see, you know, because you know what they're going through a bit. Do you kind of watch as an athlete, so to speak?
05:59Yeah, I watched for sure as an athlete last night. I mean, I really I had a feeling like that they would still turn it around.
06:07I mean, the people I was watching, I was like, I don't know, like it was getting to like 93rd minute.
06:13And I was like, I have a feeling, I have a feeling. And then Jude hit that insane goal.
06:18And I think that for me, when I'm watching and I'm like listening to the commentary, I'm like almost like I can I can literally just picture it.
06:27Like because one minute is just the way it flips. The story flips depending on how the result is going.
06:33And for sure, I sympathize with the players who are being told, you know, they need to play a lot better, need to play perfect.
06:41But I think at the end of the day, it's about getting over the line. And today, I feel like in a way I used it as motivation.
06:47Like it doesn't need to be beautiful. It doesn't need to be perfect.
06:50Like as long as you get through the opening round, opening rounds, like you give yourself another chance to play better and for circumstances to align.
06:58And as long as you're still in the tournament, you keep giving yourself that chance.
07:04And we're in front of David Beckham in the Royal Box. In your post-match flash interview on TV, you used the phrase winning ugly.
07:11I think we all agree that the football last night was Frankenstein ugly.
07:15I hope you weren't referring to your performance because you showed great resilience out there, didn't you?
07:20Yeah, I think I, in a way, it was a little bit to do with my performance.
07:27I don't think it was, you know, perfect tennis. It wasn't, you know, clean, beautiful ball striking.
07:33It was just about managing, you know, the opponent and managing the fight and the circumstances.
07:39And I think, yeah, it's, you know, that classic tennis book winning ugly.
07:45I think it's just so true. And especially in the opening round of a slam where there's so much nerves that go with it,
07:52I would say to get through is just really big and important.
07:56And I think it was a real show of character from me.
08:02I've been watching a lot of practice in Orangi.
08:06And I know you don't, and I see that players like when they're playing sets, they call their own lines.
08:11I know you don't play a lot of other players in practice.
08:14But have you ever had anyone like cheat you on the practice calls?
08:19Yeah, I think I have. Yeah, I've been, I've been hooked against.
08:28But I think with me, I genuinely like I don't like calling my own lines because I feel like I can't see.
08:35So I was just trying to ask someone I'm caught with to call the lines for me.
08:39But like for me, when we're in practice playing points, if it's an inch in, inch out, it doesn't necessarily matter.
08:46Like it's practice at the end of the day.
08:48But I think for some players, it's the biggest thing ever.
08:53So it's like, let them have it. It doesn't really matter.
08:57How do you react when that's happened to you?
08:59You just got to laugh it off.
09:03What have you learned that's been most meaningful from Andy's example and any advice he's given you?
09:11I would say like the biggest standout thing for me is when he lost in the final here of Wimbledon and then came back a month later and won the Olympics.
09:23I think that to get through six really difficult rounds and then losing the final and then to play a month later and be in the final again,
09:35your mind without you realizing just runs like deja vu scenarios like, OK, I made it to the final.
09:41You know, it's very difficult to shut that out, which is in a way why I'm very grateful and happy that I won the U.S. Open,
09:48because to make the final and not win it, you always kind of have in the back of your head like, OK, will I ever get it?
09:53Will I ever get it? And for me, I have it now. So, yeah, I'm just loving life, I guess.
10:00Any advice that Andy's given you?
10:03I think the biggest advice is just how he's always, you know, taking care of his operations, how he manages his people.
10:12Like, I haven't really spoken to him so much, but I think for me, it's just like watching him operate day to day,
10:18watching him, you know, being like absolutely on it with everything and even in practice like now, like he's so on it like to the minute.
10:28And I think me when I was a bit younger, maybe and showing up 15 minutes before practice to like, you know,
10:33do a few arm circles and, you know, swing my hand around and warm up.
10:36And he's there like an hour and a half doing treatment like the full thing. He's just such really good examples.
10:43Simon? Emma, people can have somewhat short memories. So you obviously won the U.S. in 2021.
10:48And then people on occasion were sort of jumping on you a little bit, a bit critical at times.
10:53With Gareth Southgate, obviously, he's been the most successful English manager since Alfred Amnesty Final and Semi.
11:00The treatment that has surrounded him and the England team. Have you seen that and sort of thought,
11:06that's a bit OTT and reminded you of anything you've gone through?
11:09Well, I think football is just on a much bigger scale than tennis.
11:13So they're all under the microscope. And I do feel for the scrutiny because, yeah,
11:20I feel like tennis is just a much smaller scale because the whole nation is watching the football
11:25and the fans are very, very passionate. So in a way, yeah.
11:29But I relate a little bit, probably less than they're going through.
11:34But I think it just comes with success. It just comes with being at the top.
11:40And I think when they're not talking about you, that's when you need to start to worry.