CANADIAN AND BRIT UNDERDOGS
Teen titans Fernandez, Raducanu on brink of US Open finalIssued on: 09/09/2021 -
British 18-year-old sensation Emma Raducanu would become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final with one more victory at the US Open
TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP
New York (AFP)
Teen powerhouses Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu are each one victory from reaching their first Grand Slam final at the US Open, displaying the next generation's formidable talent.
Raducanu, a British 18-year-old who became the first US Open qualifier to reach the last four, and Fernandez, a Canadian who ousted Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber before turning 19 on Monday, have starring roles in Thursday's women's semi-finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Fernandez, a 73rd-ranked left-hander, will face second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who has matched her deepest Slam run from July at Wimbledon, while 150th-ranked Raducanu faces Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari, who matched her best Slam run from June's French Open.
"I think we all have equal chances of winning the semifinals and then winning the title," Sakkari said. "We are all for a reason here. We're all playing well."
One of the four will capture her first Grand Slam title in Saturday's final, which could be an electrifying prodigy battle.
"I've known Leylah since we were juniors, in Under-12s," Raducanu said. "We played Orange Bowl and all of those tournaments. I played her in Junior Wimbledon, actually.
"The fact we're both in the semifinals of the US Open after having played each other from the early days, it's very cool to see just how far we have come. She's a really cool person."
Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion who turns 40 later this month, won her first major title at the 1999 US Open at age 17, three years before Raducanu or Fernandez were born.
Raducanu, only the fourth qualifier in the semis at any Slam, could become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final.
"We're all just super hungry to make a difference in the tennis world," said Fernandez. "I'm just glad we're doing such great jobs and doing just that.
"We want to make an impact. This tournament just proves how well we're adapting to everything."
Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, beaten by Raducanu in a quarter-final, hopes the rising stars will receive a nurturing environment to develop.
"It's great for tennis. It's obviously great stories," she said. "I just really hope that everyone will protect them and will hope the best for them and not try to put so much pressure and so much hype around them so it just gets too much... so they can just develop in peace also a little bit."
New York (AFP)
Teen powerhouses Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu are each one victory from reaching their first Grand Slam final at the US Open, displaying the next generation's formidable talent.
Raducanu, a British 18-year-old who became the first US Open qualifier to reach the last four, and Fernandez, a Canadian who ousted Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber before turning 19 on Monday, have starring roles in Thursday's women's semi-finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Fernandez, a 73rd-ranked left-hander, will face second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who has matched her deepest Slam run from July at Wimbledon, while 150th-ranked Raducanu faces Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari, who matched her best Slam run from June's French Open.
"I think we all have equal chances of winning the semifinals and then winning the title," Sakkari said. "We are all for a reason here. We're all playing well."
One of the four will capture her first Grand Slam title in Saturday's final, which could be an electrifying prodigy battle.
"I've known Leylah since we were juniors, in Under-12s," Raducanu said. "We played Orange Bowl and all of those tournaments. I played her in Junior Wimbledon, actually.
"The fact we're both in the semifinals of the US Open after having played each other from the early days, it's very cool to see just how far we have come. She's a really cool person."
Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion who turns 40 later this month, won her first major title at the 1999 US Open at age 17, three years before Raducanu or Fernandez were born.
Raducanu, only the fourth qualifier in the semis at any Slam, could become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final.
"We're all just super hungry to make a difference in the tennis world," said Fernandez. "I'm just glad we're doing such great jobs and doing just that.
"We want to make an impact. This tournament just proves how well we're adapting to everything."
Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, beaten by Raducanu in a quarter-final, hopes the rising stars will receive a nurturing environment to develop.
"It's great for tennis. It's obviously great stories," she said. "I just really hope that everyone will protect them and will hope the best for them and not try to put so much pressure and so much hype around them so it just gets too much... so they can just develop in peace also a little bit."
Canada's Leylah Fernandez, who turned 19 on Monday, is one victory from a berth in the US Open final
Kena Betancur AFP
Sabalenka, 23, is looking forward to facing crowd darling Fernandez, whose poise under pressure and powerful shotmaking have produced shock upsets.
"She's playing well, moving well. I would say it's nothing to lose for her," Sabalenka said. "She's a great player. She's fighting for every point. The crowd are there and they are supporting her really loud.
"It will be interesting one. Really looking forward for this match."
Sabalenka hopes for a breakthrough title of her own in her 16th Slam start.
"Hopefully I can keep it up," she said. "I'm really proud of myself. I'm here in the semifinal and I have another chance to show my best."
- 'Being young and free' -
Raducanu, who handed out cupcakes in the locker room to celebrate her birthday, has not dropped a set at the Open.
She is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.
Raducanu became the youngest US Open women's semi-finalist since Maria Sharapova in 2005.
"To have so many young players here doing so well, it shows how strong the next generation is," Raducanu said.
"There's definitely an element of being young and free -- there's a quality to that, being free swinging and loose."
Sakkari, 26, has defeated three top-10 seeds in Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Bianca Andreescu.
"I beat some really good players. My tennis looks in a good place right now," Sakkari said. "I'm at the best age of my career."
Sabalenka, 23, is looking forward to facing crowd darling Fernandez, whose poise under pressure and powerful shotmaking have produced shock upsets.
"She's playing well, moving well. I would say it's nothing to lose for her," Sabalenka said. "She's a great player. She's fighting for every point. The crowd are there and they are supporting her really loud.
"It will be interesting one. Really looking forward for this match."
Sabalenka hopes for a breakthrough title of her own in her 16th Slam start.
"Hopefully I can keep it up," she said. "I'm really proud of myself. I'm here in the semifinal and I have another chance to show my best."
- 'Being young and free' -
Raducanu, who handed out cupcakes in the locker room to celebrate her birthday, has not dropped a set at the Open.
She is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.
Raducanu became the youngest US Open women's semi-finalist since Maria Sharapova in 2005.
"To have so many young players here doing so well, it shows how strong the next generation is," Raducanu said.
"There's definitely an element of being young and free -- there's a quality to that, being free swinging and loose."
Sakkari, 26, has defeated three top-10 seeds in Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Bianca Andreescu.
"I beat some really good players. My tennis looks in a good place right now," Sakkari said. "I'm at the best age of my career."
'Anything is possible' in Raducanu's US Open fairy tale
Issued on: 08/09/2021
Britain's Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier to reach the US Open women's semi-finals on Wednesday by defeating Switzerland's Belinda Bencic
TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP
New York (AFP)
Emma Raducanu, an 18-year-old British qualifier, is living a US Open dream as astonishing as anything one might see down the road on Broadway.
Raducanu, ranked 150th, became the first qualifier to reach the US Open women's semi-finals on Wednesday by defeating Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic, the Tokyo Olympic champion, 6-3, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She's only the fourth qualifier in Grand Slam history to reach the semi-finals, but Raducanu still resists comparisons to such stars as Naomi Osaka.
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"I think to compare yourself and your results against anyone is probably like the thief of happiness," Raducanu said.
"I didn't compete for 18 months, but here I am and it just shows that if you believe in yourself, then anything is possible."
Raducanu could become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final, and from there a trophy is only one step away, even though she insists on never looking ahead.
"Let's say I have a hunger to win every single match I play," Raducanu said. "So I don't want to get ahead of myself at all, because I just like to take it one day at a time.
"If I take care of what I can control, that's going to give me the best chance. Until now, I think it's worked very well for me not getting ahead of myself, just focusing on one point at a time. It's got me to this stage, and I'm not going to change anything."
That includes her red attire on court.
"It's not the same set, to be clear," Raducanu said. "I just really like the color red."
It hasn't been a bad couple of weeks for a woman who planned to pack her bags for a much earlier exit.
"I didn't expect to be here at all. I think my flights were booked at the end of qualifying, so it's a nice problem to have," Raducanu said.
"I've just been focusing one day at a time, taking care of each day. When you're playing tournaments, you just get into this sort of autopilot mode of your routines, recovering on the day off in between."
She is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.
- Inspired by legends -
British tennis legends Wade, Andy Murray and Tim Henman have boosted her confidence.
"All are such great role models and figures for me to follow," she said. "I think that their presence and everything they've achieved is inspiration in itself for me."
Raducanu made her Grand Slam debut with a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in July and followed with WTA events in San Jose and Chicago.
"I worked my way up to this level gradually but, yeah, the amount of matches I have had has really helped with my confidence," Raducanu said.
She's most pleased with improving her court movement at the Open.
"Physically I would say I'm not 100% developed yet, but my speed and ability to get to some of the balls has definitely surprised me," Raducanu said.
"I've started sliding, which I didn't know I could do actually, and I kind of do it by accident now. I've always wanted to learn how to do it, but now I can."
She credits her parents with the mental toughness that has been her trademark in clutch situations.
"The calmness and the mental strength definitely comes from my upbringing," Raducanu said.
"I'm pretty relaxed. I trust myself and it's all mental at the end of the day."
© 2021 AFP
New York (AFP)
Emma Raducanu, an 18-year-old British qualifier, is living a US Open dream as astonishing as anything one might see down the road on Broadway.
Raducanu, ranked 150th, became the first qualifier to reach the US Open women's semi-finals on Wednesday by defeating Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic, the Tokyo Olympic champion, 6-3, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She's only the fourth qualifier in Grand Slam history to reach the semi-finals, but Raducanu still resists comparisons to such stars as Naomi Osaka.
ADVERTISING
"I think to compare yourself and your results against anyone is probably like the thief of happiness," Raducanu said.
"I didn't compete for 18 months, but here I am and it just shows that if you believe in yourself, then anything is possible."
Raducanu could become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final, and from there a trophy is only one step away, even though she insists on never looking ahead.
"Let's say I have a hunger to win every single match I play," Raducanu said. "So I don't want to get ahead of myself at all, because I just like to take it one day at a time.
"If I take care of what I can control, that's going to give me the best chance. Until now, I think it's worked very well for me not getting ahead of myself, just focusing on one point at a time. It's got me to this stage, and I'm not going to change anything."
That includes her red attire on court.
"It's not the same set, to be clear," Raducanu said. "I just really like the color red."
It hasn't been a bad couple of weeks for a woman who planned to pack her bags for a much earlier exit.
"I didn't expect to be here at all. I think my flights were booked at the end of qualifying, so it's a nice problem to have," Raducanu said.
"I've just been focusing one day at a time, taking care of each day. When you're playing tournaments, you just get into this sort of autopilot mode of your routines, recovering on the day off in between."
She is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.
- Inspired by legends -
British tennis legends Wade, Andy Murray and Tim Henman have boosted her confidence.
"All are such great role models and figures for me to follow," she said. "I think that their presence and everything they've achieved is inspiration in itself for me."
Raducanu made her Grand Slam debut with a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in July and followed with WTA events in San Jose and Chicago.
"I worked my way up to this level gradually but, yeah, the amount of matches I have had has really helped with my confidence," Raducanu said.
She's most pleased with improving her court movement at the Open.
"Physically I would say I'm not 100% developed yet, but my speed and ability to get to some of the balls has definitely surprised me," Raducanu said.
"I've started sliding, which I didn't know I could do actually, and I kind of do it by accident now. I've always wanted to learn how to do it, but now I can."
She credits her parents with the mental toughness that has been her trademark in clutch situations.
"The calmness and the mental strength definitely comes from my upbringing," Raducanu said.
"I'm pretty relaxed. I trust myself and it's all mental at the end of the day."
© 2021 AFP
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