"She’s playing great tennis": Emma Raducanu praises Amanda Anisimova after commentator's 'rattled' comment during Miami Open encounter

Britain’s Emma Raducanu was full of praise for her opponent Amanda Anisimova despite ‘rattled’ comments made during the Miami Open round of 16 match. The 22-year-old is currently taking part in the WTA 1000 event in Miami, where she cemented her spot in the quarterfinal of the event after beating America’s Anisimova in straight sets with a score of 6-1,6-3.

During the match, former British number one Annabel Croft, who was commentating for Sky Sports, claimed Anisimova was ‘rattled’ because of Raducanu’s performance. “Anisimova is absolutely rattled. Her service game… I’m not sure Emma has even lost a point has she?… Dropping the racket there, she (Anisimova) is absolutely fuming,” she said. “She is all over the place. That sigh says it all. Fed up out here. Not enjoying this. She’s being humiliated.”

However, the former world number 10, while talking to Sky Sports after the match, was full of praise for her opponent. She stated that playing against a player of Anisimova’s quality is ‘never easy’ and also stated that she is ‘really proud’ of her performance on the day. .

“Playing Amanda is never easy, she’s had some amazing wins, top 20 and won a Masters this year,” she said. “She’s playing great tennis and I hope her wrist, or something, is okay. I felt something was maybe going down on the other side. And, it’s really difficult to stay focused when your opponent is making some errors and then all of a sudden, [is] just blasting the lines and winners, and you have no idea what’s going on! I think those matches, it’s almost tougher to stay so ‘on’ the whole time, because when things are, in a way, more ‘normal’, you have to be locked in every single point. I’m really proud of how I came through that.”

Raducanu will now face America’s Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinal of the competition. The 2024 US Open runner-up cemented her spot in the last eight after beating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3.