New York, Sep 12: British teenager Emma Raducanu arrived in New York last month with a ranking of 150th, just one Grand Slam appearance to her name and a flight booked to head out of town after the US Open’s preliminary rounds in case she failed to win her way into the main tournament.
And there she was in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, holding a trophy to complete an unlikely – indeed, unprecedented – and surprisingly dominant journey from qualifier to major champion by beating Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
“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 18-year-old Raducanu won 10 matches in a row at Flushing Meadows – three in qualifying, seven in the main draw – and is the first woman to win the US Open title without dropping a set since Serena Williams in 2014.
This was the first major final between two teens since Williams, 17, beat Martina Hingis, 18, at the 1999 US Open and the first between two unseeded women in the professional era, which began in 1968.
“I hope to be back here in the finals and this time with a trophy – the right one. With the right trophy,” Fernandez said as tears welled in her eyes during the trophy presentation.
Raducanu broke to go up 4-2 in the second set, held for 5-2 and twice was a point from winning the title in the next game. But under pressure from Fernandez, she let both of those opportunities slip away by putting groundstrokes into the net.
Then at 5-3, while Raducanu was serving for the match, she slid on the court chasing a ball to her backhand side, bloodying her left knee. A trainer came out to put a bandage on the cut that saw a delay of more than four minutes.
When they resumed, Raducanu saved a pair of break points, then converted on her third chance to close it with a 108 mph ace.
She dropped her racket, landed on her back and covered her face with both hands. Raducanu is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam trophy since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.
Wade was in the Ashe stands on Saturday, applauding with everyone else. Raducanu also is the youngest player to claim a women’s major title since Maria Sharapova was 17 at Wimbledon in 2004.
Fernandez would have been, too, had she emerged to win.
Both players walked out to loud ovations – Fernandez’s was slightly louder – and wearing their equipment bags with both straps over their shoulders, the way someone their age might do with a backpack for high school (Raducanu recently completed her exams) or college.
They both have played like veterans at the US Open, displaying the poise and shot-making of veterans.
The final was entertaining and, for the most part, even, filled with lengthy points and lengthy games. The talent and affinity for the big stage both possess is unmistakable. Took 28 minutes for merely four games, with a break and a hold apiece making it 2-all.
Both blew chances at times. At others, both came up with the goods, producing on-the-run baseline excellence.
One of the significant differences came at the start of points, because that is where Fernandez faltered more. She put only 58% of her first serves in, finished with five double-faults, helping Raducanu accumulate 18 break points, four of which were converted.
The crowd was so quiet right before and during points that one could hear the right-handed Raducanu’s slap of a leg while waiting to receive serves or her whisper of an exhale while swinging her racket.
Raducanu’s only previous Grand Slam tournament came at Wimbledon, where she stopped playing during the fourth round because of trouble breathing.
That was July, when Raducanu was ranked outside the top 300 and an unknown. Look at her now. (AP)
