To say the least, the 2018 US Open has produced some outstanding tennis so far. The WTA players did their utmost to engage and amuse tennis fans while maintaining the sport’s unpredictable nature.
In addition, two adolescent sensations have emerged from the competition. Emma Raducanu is one of them.
This British kid got into the main draw after proving her mettle in the US Open qualification stages after making a name for herself at the Wimbledon Championships a few months ago by reaching the fourth round.
Raducanu has reached the quarter-finals without dropping a set, thanks to a string of outstanding performances. However, Belinda Bencic, a formidable opponent, awaited the teenager.
Bencic came into the match as a favourite to advance to the semis after winning two medals at the Tokyo Olympics last month. Raducanu played with abandon from the start of the match, taking advantage of her Swiss opponent’s fears.
Stunning performance by Raducanu
Bencic’s serve gave up and she dropped the first set, 6-3, on a day when she couldn’t figure out how to get past Raducanu. The second set followed a similar plot to the first. Bencic’s body language suggested she wasn’t sure she could take the set away from the Brit.
?? @EmmaRaducanu: The third woman ranked outside the top 100 to reach a #USOpen semi-final ?
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) September 8, 2021
The other two?
Unranked @Clijsterskim in 2009 and unranked @BillieJeanKing in 1979.
Unreal company ? pic.twitter.com/eerhB7ZPdA
Raducanu set a new record by becoming only the third woman outside the top-100 rankings to reach the US Open semi-finals with this big win. Kim Clijsters in 2009 and the legendary Billie Jean King in 1979 were the other two women to break the mark.
Emma Raducanu will now await the winner of Maria Sakkari vs. Karolina Pliskova’s quarter-final match. The fact that players like Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez are ruling the roost at the US Open this year is fantastic.
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