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Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Mats Wilander recently spoke to Tennis365 about the realistic targets for Emma Raducanu in the 2022 season. Wilander believes the teenager needs to start making the second week of Grand Slams on a consistent basis and earn the respect of the locker room.
The Brit hasn't built on her title-winning run as a qualifier at last year's US Open. In fact, she has suffered opening-round defeats in her last two tournaments, including a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Elena Rybakina in Sydney on Tuesday.
Wilander, for his part, feels Raducanu needs to aim at being more consistent and making deep runs in the Majors.
“The second week of Majors is something she needs to be aiming at pretty much all the time,” he said.
The Swede remarked that the best players in the world don't allow their level to drop below a certain point even on a bad day, which separates them from the rest of the tour.
“She doesn’t have the respect in the locker room yet though. You don’t win respect by winning one major and winning nothing else. I think everybody knows her level is extremely high," Wilander commented. "Everyone that gets entry to the locker room in Majors, their level is extremely high. But the best players in the world don't play below a certain level."
"Physically it's no problem, mentally it’s not easy to suddenly create some kind of artificial confidence from winning a Major” - Mats Wilander on Emma Raducanu
Tennis is as much a mental sport as it is physical. And while Raducanu is technically very sound, Wilander believes she is lacking in the psychological department. According to the Swede, it is difficult to generate "artificial confidence" just by winning a Major.
"I think for Emma, physically it's no problem. Mentally it’s not that easy to suddenly create some kind of artificial confidence from winning a major,” Wilander said.
The Swede is no stranger to fairytale runs as a teenager. He became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era when he triumphed at the French Open in 1982 as a 17-year-old.
During the title-winning run, Wilander famously took out second seed Ivan Lendl in the round of 16, fifth seed Vitas Gerulaitis in the quarterfinals, fourth seed Jose-Luis Clerc in the semifinals and third seed Guillermo Vilas in the final.
He pointed out how his run was different from Raducanu's at last year's US Open, where the draw opened up for the Brit. Wilander feels that beating the best players in the world boosted his confidence naturally, while the process might be more challenging for Raducanu.
“I won my first Major when I was very young, at 17. I knew I had beaten the best players in the world along the way and my confidence level got really high. That was because I’d done something before I won the French Open as well, " he added.
The Swede praised Raducanu for her Wimbledon run last year, but added that the teenager needs to deliver more often to earn the respect of the locker room.
“For her, getting the fourth round of Wimbledon was amazing, but I think she needs a few more matches under her belt so the locker room sees she can be good, even on her worse day," Wilander said.
