Emma Raducanu ‘finding best form since US Open’ during Cincinnati run, says Martina Navratilova

Raducanu showed signs of her fearless performances in New York last September as she swept aside both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka

Emma Raducanu has found her best form since winning the US Open last September after thrashing both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, according to 18-time grand slam champion Martina Navratilova.

Raducanu completed a magical 24 hours as she dismantled two former grand slam champions in dominant victories, with her 6-4 6-0 win over Williams being backed up by an even more impressive performance in crushing Azarenka 6-0 6-2 in just over an hour.

Raducanu’s victory over Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, was her first victory over a top-25 player since storming to her sensational and unexpected triumph in New York last year.

The British No 1 will return to Flushing Meadows later this month to defend her title and Navratiolva believes the build-up to her US Open defence has inspired Raducanu to rediscover her level from last year’s remarkable run in New York.

“She played better than she played yesterday, she played like she did when she won the US Open,” Navratilova told Amazon Prime following Raducanu’s victory over the 33-year-old former world No 1 Azarenka. “It’s that simple. She has not had this form since then.”

“I didn’t think she could do it back-to-back because I thought yesterday was mostly because of Serena, but clearly that’s not the case. She gets up for the big matches and she’s feeling the build-up to the US Open in a really good way. She must be really happy with how she played.”

Raducanu said she was pleased with how she controlled her emotions during the win over Azarenka following an inconsistent debut season on tour. Raducanu had only won back-to-back matches three times before the WTA Masters event in Cincinnati and has yet to reach the semi-finals of any tournament since winning the US Open.

“You’re going to have a bad year regardless so for mine to happen after winning the US Open from qualifying, I think that it’s okay and it’s all part of the journey and I’m learning from it,” Raducanu said.

“Today I’ve realised I’ve been really high and I’ve been really low, and just staying at one sort of level like I was today and yesterday definitely helps as well.”

Raducanu’s next opponent in Cincinnati will be the American No 1 and tournament seventh seed Jessica Pegula.

“It’s going to be a tough match and she’s playing at home as well so I’m sure the crowd will be behind her as well,” Raducanu said. “But it’s all good because I’ve experienced that, I don’t think you can play in front of more than Serena Williams at home.”