Emma Raducanu's new coach is determined to take the British star's game to a whole new level by improving every single one of her shots. Francis Roig, who was key to all of Rafael Nadal's 22 Grand Slam titles, is Raducanu's new full-time coach.
The 22-year-old began their partnership with a sensational thrashing of Olga Danilovic. A 6-3 6-2 victory has set up a crunch rematch with Wimbledon nemesis Aryna Sabalenka at the Cincinnati Open. Raducanu has already enjoyed a hugely positive year that has largely been injury free. And now she is desperate to give the world's best players a tough time on a more frequent basis, starting with Sabalenka tomorrow. The British No. 1 pushed the Belarusian far at Wimbledon a month ago but ended up losing in straight sets. Roig's influence on her game could be crucial, and he has already told her that all of her shots must improve.
Asked about her conversations with the Spaniard, Raducanu - who warned rivals that she is "building momentum" - said: "It's just, 'the level needs to be better'. In a good way, not in a negative way. It's just calling it how it is.
"And I'm very like that. I'm very factual and I don't necessarily like fluffing something up. I think that's where we get on really well and we understand each other. Just in general, everything is like: 'We need to improve. We need to get every shot better.' And that's exciting, because I feel like there's a lot of potential to go and I don't think I'm near it.
"You always feel a little bit of nerves before the first round, but I think that overall, I'm approaching everything in a lot more calm way, mature, and I think I'm trusting a lot more the work I'm doing behind the scenes. I know I'm putting a lot of hours in, and it takes some of the pressure off of the results.
"I think the way I'm playing, the movements of my shot, improving the quality of my shot. There were four or five points where I did something that we were working on, and it's always really satisfying and rewarding when you hit a shot and you've worked on it in practice. So I think I'm going to improve a lot, hopefully doing the work day in, day out."
Raducanu's clash with Sabalenka will serve as a litmus test of her progression this summer. Last month, she pushed the three-time Grand Slam champion to her very limits but still lost in straight sets in their battle at Wimbledon.
The Cincinnati Open is Raducanu's final tournament before the US Open. She is returning to the scene of her greatest triumph four years after her only Grand Slam win.
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