Emma Raducanu continued her historic run at the US Open as she defeated Maria Sakkari to set up a sensational all-teenage final against Leylah Fernandez in New York.
Raducanu sealed an emphatic 6-1, 6-4 victory over 17th seed Sakkari to become the first British woman since Virginia Wade in 1977 to reach a Grand Slam singles final, on what has been a dream debut at Flushing Meadows.
In doing so, the 18-year-old becomes the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final and is the youngest US Open finalist in more than 20 years, after 19-year-old Fernandez had briefly held that record following her three-sets win over second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Raducanu withstood early pressure from Sakkari as she saved seven break points in her opening two service games, but was clinical as she broke her opponent early to establish a 3-0 lead in the opening set. A further break of serve underlined Raducanu’s perfect start as the teenager quickly established control before going on to claim the first set 6-1.
The teenager dominated the second set and did not face a single break point on her serve and while Sakkari responded to the challenge by saving a number of break point opportunities herself, Raducanu’s early break in the second set was enough as she kept her nerve to serve out a remarkable victory.
Saturday’s final against Canadian Fernandez will also be the first in Grand Slam history to feature two unseeded players, and the first meeting of two teenagers since 1999. “Is there any expectation?” Raducanu laughed when asked during her on-court interview about the possibility of winning the US Open. “I’m a qualifier, technically there’s no pressure on me.”
Follow all the reaction from the US Open semi-finals below.
