“I’m so grateful for the experience and for our careers to have crossed over, it was a true honour to share the court with her” - Emma Raducanu on Serena Williams following 2022 Cincinnati Open 1R win

Emma Raducanu paid tribute to Serena Williams following her opening-round win against the American tennis legend at the 2022 Cincinnati Open on Tuesday. The Brit beat Williams 6-4, 6-0 to progress to the second round.

In what was the first-ever clash between the pair, the defending US Open champion gave the 40-year-old little room to breathe. She put in a professional performance, winning the opening set in just 39 minutes before taking the second in 26 minutes.

In her on-court interview after the win, Raducanu spoke highly of Williams and was thankful for getting the opportunity to face her on the court.

“I’m so grateful for the experience to be able to play her and for our careers to have crossed over, and everything she has achieved is so inspirational and it was a true honour to share the court with her,” Raducanu said.

The teenager said that Williams’ stature and ability had made her nervous throughout the contest.

“To be honest I was nervous from the first point to the last point because I know what a champion she is, she can come back from any situation and I’m just so pleased I could keep my composure,” she said.

The 19-year-old also thanked the Center Court crowd for their amazing support.

“I mean the atmosphere tonight was amazing and to play with Serena, I mean for sure even when you guys were cheering for her I was all for it,” she said, adding, “Well, I think we all need to just honour Serena and her amazing career.”

Also Checkout:- Cincinnati Open 2022 Results

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Serena Williams declines requests for on-court interview following defeat to Emma Raducanu

Serena Williams waves goodbye to the crowd at the 2022 Canadian Open

Cutting away from the norm, Serena Williams was asked to speak to the crowd after her defeat to Emma Raducanu. While she accepted a similar request following her defeat to Belinda Bencic at the 2022 Canadian Open last week, she declined to do the same in Cincinnati.

Despite the emcee trying to persuade Williams to stay back, the American veteran was quick to walk away while waving to the crowd.

The 40-year-old announced her plans to retire earlier this month. Since then, she hasn’t sat for any press conferences and is following the trend in Cincinnati too.

Williams is scheduled to be seen in action next at the US Open, which begins on August 29.