"When she plays like that, it is phenomenal to watch": Former British number one compares Emma Raducanu with Andy Murray after impressive performance at Miami Open

Former British number one Annabel Croft has stated that Emma Raducanu’s performance in the Miami Open reminded her of former world number one Andy Murray. The 22-year-old, who was once regarded as the next big thing when she lifted the US Open title at the age of just 18 back in 2021, had an impressive run in the recently concluded WTA 1000 event in Miami.

Her journey ended in the quarterfinal, where she lost to the US Open 2024 runner-up Jessica Pegula with a score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-2. Former British number one Croft recently wrote a column in The Sunday Times praising Raducanu's performances in the competition.

The 58-year-old was of the opinion that she could not believe the difference in seeing Raducanu, who was a completely different player from how she was last year. Croft also stated that seeing the former world number 10 making so few errors reminded her of the former world number one Murray, who, during his playing days, ensured that there were no easy points available for his opponents.

“Watching Raducanu breeze through to the last eight in Florida, I could not believe the difference in a player who looked as if she had little to no confidence just a few weeks ago,” she wrote. “Her first round win against Sayaka Ishii, the world No 188 who frankly struggled to hit the ball in the court, ignited a level of play that I believe was higher than her run to Grand Slam glory at Flushing Meadows. When Raducanu plays like that it is phenomenal to watch as she barely misses a ball. There were so few unforced errors across her matches in Miami that it reminded me of Andy Murray when he went into that mode in which the opponent had to work so hard to win a point. Mentally it imposes so much pressure on the opponents and you could see this getting into their heads to the point where they could not compete.”