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US Open: Emma Raducanu beats Maria Sakkari, with Leylah Fernandez up next in all-teen final
- First qualifier to reach final of any grand slam in Open era, Raducanu says ‘technically there’s no pressure on me’
- Yet to drop a set in New York, the British 18-year-old faces Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, 19, on Saturday
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Emma Raducanu’s remarkable run at the 2021 US Open continued as the British teenager beat Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-1, 6-4 to set up an all-teen showpiece with fellow first-time grand slam finalist Leylah Fernandez at Flushing Meadows.
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“Is there any expectation? I’m a qualifier so technically there’s no pressure on me,” the 18-year-old Raducanu – who has a Chinese mother and Romanian father – said after a ninth win at this year’s tournament in New York took her to an unexpected final, which will be the first in the Open era between two unseeded players.
Raducanu, who shot to prominence during a fairy-tale run to the fourth round of Wimbledon in July, also made history as the first qualifier to reach a final of any major in the Open era.
“The time here has gone so fast,” she said on Arthur Ashe Stadium after her win. “I’ve just been taking care of each day and before you know it, three weeks later, I’m in the final and I can’t actually believe it.”
In the end it looked easy, Raducanu writing her name into the record books, but she was certainly made to work for her first career slam final.
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