New York: An 18-year-old girl from south London made history in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s largest tennis stadium, in front of 23,000 spectators. Emma Raducanu won the US Open for the first time on Saturday.
She defeated 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the US Open women’s singles final. Raducanu became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title in 44 years and also is the youngest player to claim a women’s major title since Maria Sharapova was 17 at Wimbledon in 2004.
“The future of women’s tennis, and just the depth of the game right now, is so great,” Raducanu said. “I think every single player here in the women’s draw definitely has a shot of winning any tournament.”
The two youngsters going toe-to-toe in the US Open final did not appear to be two first-timers, as there was no shortage of quality in the match.
Raducanu remained calm in the face of adversity and pulled off a surprise victory. Nobody expected that because the British teenager had entered the US Open ranked 150th in the world. She advanced to the main draw of her second Grand Slam after winning three qualifying matches — and is the first woman to win the US Open title without dropping a set since Serena Williams in 2014.
After a poor Fernandez serves, Raducanu won the opening set 6-4 in 58 minutes. In the second set, she went ahead 4-2 and held for a 5-2 victory, and in the next game, twice was a point from winning the title.
“That’s just the competitor that she is,” Raducanu said about Fernandez, whom she last faced in the Wimbledon juniors event three years ago.
Raducanu thanked the New York fans for making her feel “at home” after her spectacular win in the year’s last calendar Grand Slam, “Thank you to everyone here in New York. Thank you all for making me feel so at home from my first qualifying match all the way to the final. I loved playing in front of you and you have really spurred me on in some very difficult moments”.
Raducanu’s first other Grand Slam appearance was at Wimbledon, where she withdrew in the fourth round due to lung problems. Raducanu was ranked outside the top 300 at the time, and she was a complete unknown.
