Britain’s Emma Raducanu recently picked Novak Djokovic as the greatest tennis player of all time. She also stated that retired legend Roger Federer is her favorite.
Raducanu is set to start her 2024 US Open campaign against Sofia Kenin. The duo will clash in a first-round match on Tuesday, August 27, at Grandstand in Flushing Meadows.
Notably, the Brit is the 2021 women’s singles champion in New York. She crashed out of the 2022 event from the first round and missed the previous year’s edition, nursing injuries.
Ahead of her 2024 campaign, Emma Raducanu sat with Sky Sports for a rapid-fire Q&A. The first question prompted her to pick the tennis GOAT, and she responded:
“In my opinion, the tennis GOAT is Novak Djokovic for pure, just repeatable quality but I think my favorite to watch is Roger Federer.”
Djokovic is also in contention as the defending champion at the US Open and he recently qualified for the second round with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Radu Albot. He boasts a trophy collection consisting of 24 Grand Slams, 40 ATP Masters 1000 titles, seven year-end championships, and an Olympic gold.
Federer, who hung up his racket in 2022, isn’t far behind the Serb as he has won 20 Majors, 28 ATP Masters 1000, and six ATP Finals.
In another question, Emma Raducanu was asked to name the best tennis venue.
“The best venue to play at, in my opinion, is Wimbledon. It’s my favorite tournament and the one that I want to win the most,” she said.
The world No. 72’s favorite Grand Slam is the one ongoing in Flushing Meadows, as she added:
“I would say my favorite Major is the US Open because I have such special memories from that place and it’s also on my favorite surface, I love hard courts.”
Emma Raducanu won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier
Emma Raducanu holds the 2021 US Open women’s singles trophy. (Getty)
Emma Raducanu holds the 2021 US Open women’s singles trophy. (Getty)
In 2021, Emma Radaucanu became the first tennis player to win a Grand Slam title as a qualifier when she lifted the US Open women’s singles trophy at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She started her effort as the 31st seed in the qualifying and moved up to the main draw with straight-set wins over Bibiane Schoofs from the Netherlands, Mariam Bolkvadze from Georgia, and Mayar Sherif from Egypt.
She then overcame Stefanie Vogele 6-2, 6-3 in the first round, Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-4 in the second, Sara Sorribes 6-0, 6-1 in the third, and Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1 in the fourth.
In the quarterfinals, Emma Raducanu upset 11th seed Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4 before defeating No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals. She completed the dream run by bettering Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the New York final.