Emma Raducanu has been told how she can emulate Jack Draper’s rise up the rankings by Jamie Murray.
The 22-year-old was handed a rough draw at Wimbledon this year, in what could have been a great opportunity for her to give her ranking a boost ahead of the US hard-court swing of the tour.
In fact, had she not skipped Berlin due to fitness concerns, there was every chance that Emma Raducanu would have secured a seeded spot for her home Grand Slam.
Alas, that was not to be, and despite beating Marketa Vondrousova in just the second round, she did not have enough to deliver the killer blow to Aryna Sabalenka the following match, despite leading by a break in both sets.
It was still an impressive week for the former British number one, even if Jamie, brother of two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, was not as enamoured.
Jamie Murray hands Emma Raducanu advice
Speaking to the Mirror, Murray first spoke about Raducanu’s recent Wimbledon campaign: “She actually got a good draw, playing a young British girl (Mimi Xu) in the first match.
“But if you’re unseeded then you’re going to have to play top players pretty early in the event. I would say the third round is a good result, all things considered. She had a competitive match with Sabalenka.
“Hopefully she goes and has a good summer in America. But it’s not like Jack – he was number four in the world [at Wimbledon]. He’s putting results together all the time, he’s proven that he’s world-class and a top player.”
Then asked about her ranking, which is currently at just 43 in the world, Murray continued: “That’s miles away from being at the level that Jack is at. Of course she had an unbelievable result at the US Open. But she obviously needs to win a lot more matches to be talked about as a contender for these tournaments.
“But of course, the hype is obviously massive based on her story of winning the US Open a few years ago. Not to talk bad about Emma, but Jack is in a completely different place in his career than where she is.”
Emma Raducanu has a huge opportunity at the US Open
Around this time last year, it really felt like Raducanu was going to pick up some momentum. Especially after she stormed into the quarter-finals at Washington, only losing to Paula Badosa in a tough three-set clash.
Alas, she followed that up with a dismal US Open showing, losing in the very first round.
Injury then ravaged the rest of her year until December, meaning there are very few points for her to defend in the coming months.
With this in mind, Raducanu can swing freely knowing that there is no pressure on her to perform. This, if she can stay fit, could make her a serious threat.
