Emma Raducanu becomes first qualifier to reach the U.S. Open semifinals

Heading into the semifinals of the 2021 United States Open, Canada’s Leylah Annie Fernandez now has teenage company.  On Wednesday, Fernandez, who is 19, was joined by 18-year-old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain in the final four of the women’s singles draw.

We know that Fernandez its ranked 73rd in the world. However, Raducanu is ranked 150th. Even though Raducanu represents Great Britain, she has something more in common with Fernandez as they are each Canadian born. Raducanu was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, before moving to England at two years of age.

In the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Raducanu made tennis history by becoming the first qualifier to make the semifinals of the United States Open. Raducanu beat reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4 in the final eight.

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At Flushing Meadows over the last two weeks, Raducanu won three matches in qualifying, before recording five victories in the main draw. So far, she has not even dropped a single set.

Raducanu also became the first British semifinalist at the United States Open since 1983. That year, Jo Durie of Bristol, England made the final four before losing to American legend Chris Evert, 6-4, 6-4.

Raducanu initially raised eyebrows in the tennis world with a formidable performance at Wimbledon this past summer. There she reached the fourth round. Raducanu’s most impressive win in England came in the second round where she beat Olympic silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, the 2019 French Open finalist, 6-2, 6-4.

In the semifinals on Thursday, Raducanu will face Maria Sakkari of Greece. Sakkari, the 17th seed, will be making her second grand slam semifinal appearance. She was previously in the final four of the 2021 French Open.

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