She’s done it! Wow. What an amazing young player she is. Tennis is often about keeping a cool head under pressure, and I think she has the ability and confidence to do just that!
Get in. To come back in those final two service games was remarkable. Bencic was pushing her hard. Emma's smart play serving to her opponents weaker forehand was game changing.
Make that 16 sets in a row. Two wins away from not just a grand slam but SPOTY. Word for Bencic too one of my favourites graceful in defeat who's had a magnificent few months.
What an achievement. Simply superb. An immigrant. One of the thousands, nay millions that make our country great.
She's a Brit. Why do we have to tunnel down to look at where she's been born? As far as I'm concerned she's ours. That's all we need to know, or bother with.
I'm sorry mate. I suppose I'm saying that once you're here you're a Brit and it doesn't matter where you've come from. It's the same message we're saying, really.
Totally, it's just good to remind people that Brits can come from anywhere. She's totally British, but an immigrant at the same time. Same as Mo Farah & loads of our premier league footballers. The narrative is always the other way round, until someone is a massive success & they are draped in the English / British flag, without accepting the fact they are just the same as all the other people coming into the country to make their own contribution.
She really is something special though. Amazing talent, tenacity and temperament. If she wins the US Open as a qualifier we are in unbelievable territory. It would be one the finest achievements in the history of the game. Whether she wins or loses, a star is well and truly born.
Her power and accuracy is something to behold, but it's not what makes her so great. It's her game intelligence that separates her from the rest. She works out her opponents on the fly. Testing and probing until she finds a formula, then simply takes them apart. At times it appears almost effortless. Towards the end of that match she had the Olympic champion, one of the form players on the planet, looking completely lost and helpless. After her first few matches here I was worried she would get worked out... It's now becoming apparent that the opposite is true. It's her that's going to work everyone else out. If she stays fit and healthy, she might well go on to be one of the greatest to ever pick up a racket.
I’m not sure that’s right. She’s made no secret of how proud she is of her (to say the least) ‘mixed’ heritage. Romanian and Chinese parents and born in Canada, but grew up and has been shaped by England. It’s certainly a background to be proud of. Getting to the point of the thread. What a performance that was. Truly outstanding. Ice in her veins and increasing self belief. A great chance to go all the way.
That's a fair point. I'd be the last to deny her her pride in her parents ancestry. But the main reason she's all over everywhere is because she's a Brit. I'm sure the nation doesn't fret or take too much notice over those born here who end up doing well for other nations. Where she was born or where her parents were born are just facts. It would be awful if anyone went on to think that you had to be born here, of English born parents, in order to eliminate any notions of "impurity". These badges of representation are needed in sport - that's why we chuck our weight behind Barnsley players cos they belong to us. - no matter where they come from.