Emma Raducanu, the British teenager stunned Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, No. 12 seed from Switzerland, in the 2021 US Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The British youngster, Emma Raducanu extended her stunning progress at the US Open by beating Belinda Bencic 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
The 18-year-old Raducanu from Kent became the first qualifier in US Open history to reach the last four with another outstanding display against the reigning Olympic champion.
Raducanu will play Maria Sakkari in Thursday’s semis after the Greek beat Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova.
After the match, she told Amazon Prime: “Of course, playing Belinda, she is such a great opponent and is in great form, she hits the ball so hard, I had to adjust and adapt and it was a really tough match. I am so happy to come through and thank you so much for all your support today.
“It was 0-30 in my last couple of service games so to hold was pretty big, it was one point at a time and trying to focus on what I can control – Belinda was going to fight to the end but I am really pleased to come through that.
“To have so many young players here doing so well shows how strong the next generation is – everyone is on their trajectory, so I am just here doing what I can control and it is my own journey.”
Entering her first major semifinal in only her second try, Raducanu will face the winner of the Czech Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sakkari of Greece. Raducanu is the second teen into the semifinals of the 2021 US Open, following Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
Sakkari, 26, won her quarter-final against fourth seed Karolina Pliskova, this year’s Wimbledon runner-up, 6-4 6-4.
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