Britain’s Emma Raducanu continued her dominant form in New York, defeating No. 18 Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals to advance to her first grand final at the American Open. The 18-year-old became the first-place finisher, male or female, to advance to a grand final.
Raducanu will face Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 19, on Saturday of the Championship, in the first major final for all teens since Serena Williams defeated Martina Hingis at the 1999 U.S. Open. it has also ended with a trio of British droughts. She is the youngest British finalist in 62 years, the first Briton to reach a major final in 44 years and the first Briton to reach the US Open final in 53 years.
“Honestly, I can’t believe it,” Raducanu said. “A shock. Crazy. All of the above.”
Playing only her second Slam and debuting at the U.S. Open, the Toronto-born Briton has not been close to losing a single set in six games. With victories over Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals and Sakkari in the semifinals, Raducanu, ranked No. 150, got the top 20 consecutive victories for the first time in her nascent career.
“I always had dreams of playing in the Grand Slams, but I didn’t know when they would come,” Raducanu said. “To get there so early, at this point in my career, I’ve only been on tour for a month, two months since Wimbledon. It’s pretty crazy for me.”
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Sakkari earned a spot in his second grand semifinal of the season with an impressive pair of Top 10 wins over 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu and world number 4 Karolina Pliskova. The 26-year-old Grecina entered the match full of confidence, especially after her impressive direct victory against Pliskova in the quarter-finals, a match in which she never faced a breaking point.
While Sakkari had reached his first major semi-final just three months at Roland Garros, where he reached a point in the final, Raducanu was offering his first final at the touring level. The teen phenomenon played his first WTA tournament on the Nottingham turf in June and, in his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, advanced to the round of 16. He built his strong summer with a run in the WTA 125K Chicago final last month and has not lost a game of tennis since. On Monday, she will end Johanna Konta’s 310-week reign as the No. 1 British woman, with the chance of reaching No. 24 if she wins the title.
“Before the American Open I had a lot of matches,” Raducanu said. “I played a 125 in Chicago, a 100K the week before. I think I was building with every game. Here at the U.S. Open I wasn’t sure how my level was going to be. Somehow, my level tennis has surprised me the way I have managed to face some of the best players in the world.
“Personally I think inside I knew I had a level similar to these girls inside me, but I didn’t know if I was able to keep it for a set or more than two sets. To be able to do that and play the best players in the world and to win them, honestly, I can’t believe it. “
The key moments came early in the match, as Sakkari gained a total of seven break points during Raducanu’s first two service games, but was unable to convert. Instead, Raducanu broke Sakkari in his first serve game before advancing 5-0. After clearing the first chances of Sakkari and the Greek struggling to find his distance off the field, Raducanu would not face a breaking point for the rest of the match.
Sakkari struggled to hold on to a break from Raducanu when the second set was put towards the finish line, but the Briton came up with two clinical games to keep it 5-3 and then close out the win 6-1. and 6-4 after an hour and 23 minutes.
Raducanu played a clutch match off the ground, getting 16 winners for 17 unforced errors, while Sakkari struggled to control the ball, getting 17 winners against 33 unforced errors. Raducanu served in 71% of first service and dominated his service games, winning 72% of his first service and, most impressively, 69% of his second service. In the end, Sakkari earned only 29% of his return points to the match.
“Play without fear,” Sakkari said. “She does it absolutely. She’s actually doing the right thing. She has nothing to lose. She’s enjoying herself.
“But all those days we were away from the court playing against her. I saw Belinda yesterday. I don’t want to speak for her, but I think she would agree with me that we don’t offer our best performance. I’m sad. I’m very broken from not being able to get back to the very first final. But I’m sure it will come soon. “
Saturday’s final will be the first grand final of the open era to feature two unclassified players. No. 150 Raducanu has not lost a set in the standings or the main draw, while No. 73, Fernandez, has faced three Top 5 players (Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka) and a former champion (Angelique Kerber) to a quartet of dramatic victories in three sets.
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Raducanu and Fernandez are young contemporaries, but they have yet to face the professional tour. They have played once in juniors, at the 2018 Wimbledon women’s event, with Raducanu winning 6-2, 6-4 in the second round. Fernandez had won the Roland Garros women’s event a few weeks earlier.
“We first met because I was born in Toronto and she was Canadian, so we had a small relationship then, “Raducanu said.” Then I played it at Wimbledon junior. Viouslybviament, since then, we have both come a long way in our games and as people.
“I’m sure it will be extremely different from the last time we met. But we’re both playing good tennis, so it’s going to be a good game.”