Klopp: ‘US Open winner Emma Raducanu is the talent of the century’
Jurgen Klopp called the newly-crowned US Open winner Emma Raducanu the “talent of the century”.
Although
Liverpoolare preparing for a key Champions League test this week, manager
Jurgen Klopp
took the time to acknowledge an incredible achievement from Britain’s newest sporting star
Emma Raducanu
.
Raducanu, 18, was able to win the tennis tournament on Saturday without dropping a single set and Klopp stated that the teenage prodigy is the “talent of the century”.
"I watched the final, and it was absolutely impressive. It's been a long time since I watched a full women’s tennis game, to be honest, and I was really impressed by the power, speed, and the whole game. Women’s tennis is obviously in a brilliant moment,"
Klopp told reporters of Raducanu's final victory over Canada's Leyla Fernandez.
"These two girls were 18 and 19, and what they showed was massively impressive. Both during the game itself, and then during the trophy ceremony. Both girls, how they spoke, at 18 or 19, that was inspiring to be honest, even more so than the tennis! I was absolutely overwhelmed by the way the two girls presented themselves.
"Fernandez was obviously disappointed, rightly so, after losing the game, but Emma showed great respect for her. They know and hope they will face each other many more times in the future, many more finals I wish for them as well. It was just a great show of sportsmanship, elite sport, how humble you can be when you are that young and already on top of the world. It was really nice.
"That’s what you can take from it. If you are 18 years old and you win the US Open, there is one thing that has obviously happened in the last 10-15 years; hard work. She is for sure the talent of the century, but without hard work, it is not possible to be there.
"To see her there and smiling during the game, it really was the nicest thing I could imagine. I will for sure watch women’s tennis much more now than I did in the last few years."
Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament when she won over fellow teenager Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final in New York on Saturday and It was only her second Grand Slam appearance.
She is the first British woman to win the award since Virginia Wade took the Wimbledon title in 1977, having previously won the US Open in 1968.
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