NEW YORK: British 18-year-old sensation Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier to reach the US Open semifinals by defeating Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.
But the world number 150, set to become the new British number one, had no clue about the historic impact of her display on the New York hardcourts.
Raducanu, only the fourth qualifier to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, made the Swiss 11th seed the highest-rated victim of her young career in making history on the New York hardcourts.
“It was a really tough match,” Raducanu said. “I’m really glad to have come through.”
But she had no perspective on her landmark achievement, having focused on tennis rather than milestones.
“I’ve actually got no idea about any of the records at all,” Raducanu said. “It’s the first time I heard I was the first qualifier to make the semis. I had no idea before that.
“I’m not here to chase any records right now. I’m just taking care of what I can do on the moment and on the match ahead. Haven’t even started thinking about the next one yet.”
On Thursday, Raducanu will face the winner of a later match between Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova, this year’s Wimbledon runner-up, and Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari to decide a berth in Saturday’s final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Raducanu, who would be the first qualifier to ever reach a Grand Slam final, made her Slam debut this year at Wimbledon and reached the fourth round.
She is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.
Raducanu became the youngest US Open women’s semifinalist since Maria Sharapova in 2005, although she is only a couple of months younger than Canadian 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez, who will face second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the other semifinal.
“To have so many young players here doing so well, it shows how strong the next generation is,” Raducanu said.
“I’m just here taking care of what I can control and it’s my own journey at the end of the day.”
A first-time Grand Slam champion at this US Open has already been assured.
Only unranked Billie Jean King in 1979 and Kim Clijsters in her 2009 title run have reached a US Open semifinal with a lower ranking than Raducanu, who has not dropped a set at the Open.
“I’m just really enjoying the experience,” Raducanu said. “Out there on the court, I was saying to myself, ‘This could be the last time you play on Ashe, so might as well just go for it and enjoy everything’.”
Bencic broke Raducanu to start the first set but an errant Bencic backhand allowed the British teen to break back for 3-3.
“It took me some adjusting at the beginning to get used to her ball speed, how aggressive she was,” Raducanu said. “Once I adjusted, I settled in. I didn’t overpress as much.
“I found a way to win, but it was very difficult to play against someone at such a high level.”
Raducanu smacked a forehand winner past Bencic to break again for a 5-3 edge, then held to take the first set in 36 minutes.
In the second set, Raducanu broke to lead 3-2 when Bencic netted a forehand and the Briton held three times to claim the match after 82 minutes.
“I was down love-30 in the last two service games so to hold was pretty big,” Raducanu said. “Getting one point at a time, focusing on what I could control, landing first serves.
“She was going to be tough to the end.”
Raducanu fired 23 winners against only 12 unforced errors.
Thursday would mark Raducanu’s first match against either Pliskova, whose only major final before July at Wimbledon was at the 2016 US Open, or Sakkari, whose first Slam quarter-final came in June at the French Open.
British teen qualifier Emma Raducanu’s remarkable US Open run continues into semifinals
https://arab.news/pdjqc
British teen qualifier Emma Raducanu’s remarkable US Open run continues into semifinals
- Raducanu, only the fourth qualifier to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, made Swiss 11th seed Bencic the highest-rated victim of her young career
- She is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977
History-chasing Djokovic and Alcaraz to meet in Australian Open final after epic semifinal wins
- Carlos Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam
- Novak Djokovic is aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic finally beat one of the two men who have been blocking his path to an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title when he edged Jannik Sinner in five sets Friday to reach the Australian Open final.
To get that coveted No. 25, he’ll next have to beat the other: top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz.
They’re both chasing history in Sunday’s championship decider, with the 22-year-old Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam.
The top-ranked Alcaraz also had to come through a grueling five-setter. He fended off No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in a match that started in the warmth of the afternoon Friday and, 5 hours and 27 minutes later, became the longest semifinal ever at the Australian Open.
That pushed the start of Djokovic’s match against Sinner back a couple of hours, and the 38-year-old Djokovic finally finished off a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win just after 1:30 a.m.
“It feels surreal,” Djokovic said of his 4-hour, 9-minute triumph. “Honestly, it feels like winning already tonight. I know I have to come back … and fight the No. 1 of the world. I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with him.
“That’s my desire. Let the God decide the winner.”
Djokovic was at the peak of his defensive powers, fending off 16 of the 18 breakpoints he faced against the two-time defending Australian Open champion. It ended a run of five losses to Sinner, and a run of four semifinal exits for Djokovic at the majors.
“Had many chances, couldn’t use them, and that’s the outcome,” Sinner said. “Yeah, it hurts, for sure.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have split the last eight major titles between them since Djokovic won his last title at the 2023 US Open.
Nobody knows how to win more at Melbourne Park than Djokovic. He has won all 10 times he’s contested the Australian Open final.
He said he saw Alcaraz after the first of the semifinals was over and he congratulated him on reaching his first final at Melbourne Park.
“He said sorry to delay,” Djokovic later explained. “I told him ‘I’m an old man, I need to go earlier to sleep!”
Djokovic, aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title, was kept up late.
“I’m looking forward to meeting him on Sunday,” he said.
Final 4
With the top four seeds reaching the Australian Open men’s semifinals for just the fifth time, Day 13 was destined to produce some drama. The season-opening major had been a relatively slow burn, until the back-to-back five-setters lasting a combined 9 hours and 36 minutes.
Alcaraz and Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, surpassed the 2009 classic between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco as the longest ever Australian Open semifinal.
Medical timeout
Alcaraz was as close as two points from victory in the third set but was hampered by pain in his upper right leg and his medical timeout became contentious.
He said initially it didn’t feel like cramping because the pain seemed to be just in one muscle, the right adductor, and he needed an assessment.
He navigated the third and fourth sets and was behind in the fifth after dropping serve in the first game. He kept up the pressure but didn’t break back until Zverev was serving for the match. He then won the last four games.
“I think physically we just pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the limit,” Alcaraz said. “Just really, really happy to get the win, that I came back. I just rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won.”
Believe
Asked how he was able to recover despite being so close to defeat, Alcaraz admitted he was struggling but said kept “believing, believing, all the time.”
“I’ve been in these situations, I’ve been in these kinds of matches before, so I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it. I fought until the last ball.”
Zverev was demonstrably upset about the time out out in the third set, taking it up with a tournament supervisor, when his rival was given the three-minute break for treatment and a massage on the leg.
After the match, he maintained that he didn’t think it was right, but he didn’t think it should overshadow the match.
“I don’t want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia,” he said “It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.”
