Emma Raducanu has become only the third woman in history ranked outside of the world’s top 100 to reach the last four of the US Open after stunning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in straight sets.
Taking on a top 20 player for the first time in her career, the British underdog never appeared overwhelmed by the occasion as she roared her way to a 6-3, 6-4, victory on the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Making Raducanu the youngest female player from her country to reach the semi-finals of a major since Sue Barker at the 1975 Australian Open.
“Playing Belinda, she is such a great opponent and she is in unbelievable form. Her ball speed definitely caught me off guard because she hits the ball so hard. I had to try to adjust and adapt, it was a really tough match for me,” Raducanu said during her on-court interview.
“I’m just so happy to come through.”
Initially, it was world No.12 Bencic who started the sharper of the two by winning six out of the first eight points played and breaking for a 2-0 lead. However, as the match progressed Raducanu began to find her footing by applying pressure onto her Swiss rival. Like in her previous matches, she continued her game style of hitting shots deep towards the baseline. The resilience eventually paid off for Raducanu who claimed four straight games from 3-3 to close out the first set.
Six games away from the biggest win of her career, there was still no visible nerves to be seen from the 18-year-old. In fact, it was Bencic who was the more tentative on the court as she struggled at times with her serve and began to let out outbursts of frustration. At 2-2, Bencic produced a costly double fault on break point which gifted Raducanu break number three and moved her closer to the finish line.
The two players continued to fight hard on the court until the match reached its pivotal moment. Serving for the biggest win of her career and a place in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows, Raducanu continued to win the mini battles by recovering from 0-30 to level. An ace out wide secured her first match point. She then claimed the historic win after a deep shot prompted Bencic to return the ball into the net.
“I was love-thirty in my last couple of service games so to hold them was pretty big. It was literally one point at a time, just trying to focus on what I can control – my serve and landing first serves (in),” said Raducanu who hit a total of 23 winners and won 65% of her service points.
“Belinda is an incredibly tough opponent so she was going to fight all the way until the end.”
Raducanu is the second player under the age of 20 to book her place in the next round of the women’s draw after 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez did so on Tuesday. The US Open has seen various young stars breakout in both the men’s and women’s draw. Something the Brit believes is a promising sign for the future.
“To have so many young players doing so well here just shows how strong the next generation is. Leylah is doing incredibly well,” she commented.
“Everyone is on their trajectory. I am just here, taking care of what I can control and it’s my own journey at the end of the day.”
Impressively Raducanu is still to drop a set in any of her eight matches played in New York. She now joins Billie Jean King and Kim Clijsters as the only female players ranked outside the top 100 to have ever reached the semi-finals.
