US Open: Emma Raducanu wins title - and writes tennis history
Emma Raducanu crowned her triumphal march at the US Open 2021 with the title. The qualifier from Great Britain beat Leylah Fernandez 6: 4 and 6: 3.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 12, 2021, 12:19 am
From qualifying for the Grand Slam victory: No player has achieved this before Emma Raducanu. But the 18-year-old British woman hardly showed any nerves in the final against Leylah Fernandez - even if Raducanu repeatedly missed chances to make the result even clearer. In the end it was 6: 4 and 6: 3 for the younger of the two finalists.
Raducanu was allowed to present with the serve from the start, she did so more confidently than Fernandez. The Canadian was able to fend off five breakballs in the middle of the first half - but in the tenth game Raducanu converted her third set point. The second set started curiously: Raducanu had three breakballs when the score was 1-0, Fernandez fended off all of them. To take the lead in the next service game. For the first time in this final. Raducanu countered with two breaks in a row and took a 4-2 lead with one pass. And held her serve in the seventh game.
Raducanu is up 159 ranks
After 97 minutes of play, Fernandez had to fend off her opponent's first match point, a few moments later Raducanu hit a forehand into the net on her second chance. Fernandez, who had made great comebacks against Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, came up again to 3: 5. And worked out a break chance in the next game - in a rally in which Raducanu slipped and had to call the physiotherapist. After the medical break, Fernandez had a second chance at the comeback. But Raducanu no longer allowed this. And finished her dream tournament with an ace.
Particularly noteworthy about Emma Raducanu's run in New York City: She didn't drop a set in any of her ten matches. With 2,000 points from New York, Raducanu will appear on Monday at position 23 in the WTA world rankings. She started the qualification in New York at number 182. Fernandez moved up to number 27. But missed becoming the second Canadian to win the US Open after Bianca Andreescu in 2019.
Here the single tableau in New York City
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