Raducanu shocks Olympic champ Bencic

Becomes first-ever qualifier to reach the semi-final

Raducanu shocks Olympic champ Bencic
©US Open

NEW YORK: British teenager Emma Raducanu produced another electrifying performance on Wednesday to become the first qualifier to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals, defeating Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After taking an early break, the 150th-ranked Briton quickly recovered to win four straight games to finish the first set, in which she had seven forehand winners and three aces.

Bencic, like Raducanu, had reached the last eight without dropping a set in the previous nine days, but she struggled with her first serve on Wednesday and committed a pair of costly double faults in the first set.

Raducanu kept her momentum going in the second set, fending off three break points in the first game.

With a double fault in the fifth game, a frustrated Bencic handed Raducanu a break, and her frustration boiled over as the match progressed, with the Swiss smacking her racket to the ground.

Raducanu, who was down 0-30 in her final two service games, held her nerve on both occasions and soaked up the cheers of the New York crowd after winning a nine-shot rally on the final point.

"Playing Belinda – she’s such a great opponent," Raducanu said. "Her ball speed definitely caught me off guard because she hits the ball so hard."

The 18-year-old, who made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon two months ago and reached the fourth round, has won all 16 sets she has played from qualifying to the semi-finals.

She is the second teenager to make an impression in the women's draw this week, joining 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the last four.

"To have so many young players here doing so well just shows how strong the next generation is," added Raducanu, who delighted a number of young fans by taking selfies with them before she walked off the court.

"Everyone is on their own path. I'm just here taking care of what I can control, and at the end of the day, it's my own journey."

Raducanu arrived in New York after contesting three hardcourt events in the U.S. in the run-up to the season's final major, finishing runner-up at the Chicago Challenger.

Despite the packed schedule, Raducanu has shown no signs of fatigue while demolishing opponent after opponent and believes the extra matches helped her.

"They were very good for me to adjust to the hard courts because it's completely different to the grass. You can get away with much less, "Raducanu, who was born in Canada to a Chinese mother and a Romanian father explained.

"After four weeks, I think that building up the levels at the tournaments, my game got better. With each higher level tournament I played, I had to raise my game."

While Raducanu's run at Wimbledon, where she played as a wildcard ranked 338th in the world, and now in New York has captivated tennis fans worldwide, she has remained focused on the task at hand by refusing to get caught up in the hype.

"I have actually got no idea about any of the records at all. It's the first time I heard today that I was the first qualifier to make the semis (at the U.S. Open). I had no idea before that," she said.

"I'm not here to chase any records right now. I'm just taking care of what I can do at the moment and on the match ahead. Haven't even started thinking about the next one yet."

Edited - SportsAction / Inputs - Agency