Carlos Alcaraz's five-word comment on Emma Raducanu speaks volumes about relationship

Carlos Alcaraz admits that Emma Raducanu "will be the boss" when they team up as US Open doubles partners next month. The tennis sensations have both advanced to the second round of their respective Wimbledon singles campaigns.

Raducanu breezed past Mimi Xu 6-3, 6-3, while the reigning men's SW19 champion battled through a five-set thriller against Fabio Fognini to avoid an upset. But much of the focus surrounding both players over the past weeks has been their decision to join forces for the first time at Flushing Meadows, which they announced in June. That has placed an even bigger spotlight on the two 22-year-olds given their high profiles, with unsubstantiated rumours of a romance blossoming between them.

While Raducanu dismissed any romantic links with the five-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz opened up about their relationship during a BBC interview at Wimbledon. The Spaniard's comments showed respect towards his new doubles partner while demonstrating the light-heartedness that characterises their friendship.

Raducanu was initially asked what she thought the interviewer should ask Murcian, to which she playfully said, "Ooh, good question. I would like to know how much of the court he can cover in New York," chuckling.

After the question was put to Alcaraz, he let out a laugh before saying: "I'm just going to serve and I'm gonna pull myself away and I let her play. She will cover a lot of the court. She will be the boss. I will do whatever she wants me to do."

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Despite Alcaraz's gentlemanly answer, Raducanu has quashed any rumours of a romance blooming. Both tennis icons are sponsored by Evian and were spotted walking together at the All England Club on Friday, promoting the brand.

During her pre-tournament press conference, Raducanu faced questions about a potential romantic connection with Alcaraz. The 2021 US Open champion said with a grin: "We're just good friends," and concluded the press conference with: "What a way to wrap up."

That led to a cheeky response from US women's tennis star Danielle Collins, who responded to the clip of Raducanu's comments with an Instagram post, writing: "Brutal!! @emmaraducanu such a heartbreaker," alongside a laughing emoji.

After being spotted together at the All England Club and filming on the courts, Raducanu said: "No, it was fun yesterday. We were both on court with Evian. Yeah, we were just getting some volley practice ahead of New York. Yeah, I'm really happy obviously to be playing with him. Yeah, we had a good time yesterday."

Alcaraz also opened up about his doubles partnership with Raducanu, saying: "She's gonna be the boss. Yeah, I've known Emma since a really long time ago, so we know each other. I have a really good relationship with her."

Alcaraz revealed he put in a "special request" to team up with Raducanu, revealing that she didn't say yes right away, a decision she explained later.

Raducanu jokingly said: "Got to keep them on their toes! I mean, of course, I had to ask my team if they wanted me to play. But for me, when he asked me, I was going to say yes, I just had to kind of go through the formality of asking my coach, so I didn't just make the decision."