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Emma Raducanu continues dream run to US Open semi-finals

Emma Raducanu booked her place in the US Open semi-finals with a straight sets victory over Belin...
Richie McCormack
Richie McCormack

18.57 8 Sep 2021


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Emma Raducanu continues dream...

Emma Raducanu continues dream run to US Open semi-finals

Richie McCormack
Richie McCormack

18.57 8 Sep 2021


Share this article


Emma Raducanu booked her place in the US Open semi-finals with a straight sets victory over Belinda Bencic. 

The 18-year old downed the 11th seed 6-3, 6-4  to be come the first ever qualifier to reach the semis at Flushing Meadows.

Raducanu will play the winner of tonight's meeting of 4th seed Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals.

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The lowest-ranked US Open semi-finalist since 2009 is yet to drop a set in the main draw in New York.

"Playing Belinda, she's such a great opponent," Raducanu said on court afterwards, "And she's in unbelievable form.

"Her ball speed definitely caught me off guard, because she hits the ball so hard.

"So I had to try and adjust and adapt, and it was a really tough match for me. I'm just so, so happy to come through."

It continues a remarkable tale of redemption for the teenager, who was forced to retire from her Wimbledon fourth round match with Ajla Tomljanovic in July.

Raducanu has been praised for her composure throughout the tournament, and especially against Bencic - the first top 20 player she's faced in New York.

Asked how she's keeping it together, she replied, "I was 0-30 in my last couple of service games, so to hold was pretty big.

"It's literally one point at a time, just trying to focus on what I can control - my serve, landing first serves.

"Belinda's an incredibly tough opponent, so she was going to fight all the way until the end so I'm just really pleased to come through that."

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Belinda Bencic Emma Raducanu Tennis US Open Wimbledon

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