Raducanu (18), from the pre-semifinals without losing a set

British tennis vibrates with its new star, Emma Raducanu. Maybe they weren’t expecting her so soon. At Wimbledon she played with an invite and rebelled as a very good player when she reached the last 16 at just 18 years old. In this US Open it has definitely exploded. This Wednesday he won in the quarterfinals 6-3 and 6-4 in 82 minutes against the Olympic champion and number 12 in the world, Belinda Bencic, and thus became the first player to arrive since the pre-tournament semifinals. He will face on Thursday (around 3:00) Maria Sakkari, who beat Czech Karolina Pliskova by a double 6-4 in 1:22. She is the first Greek to reach the semifinals of the US major and has already reached the penultimate round of Roland Garros this year. He was sensational with the serve: only eight points lost with his serves, with a streak of 22 in a row.

The possibility of having a final with two girls under 20 years old is getting closer and closer. Since Leylah Fernández, 19, will also face Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday (01:00) for a place in the title match.

Raducanu is also the youngest to enter the penultimate round of the American Grand Slam since Maria Sharapova., who was a few months younger when she got it in 2005. The Russian fell in the fight for the final against Kim Clijsters, ultimately champion, and related to another achievement of the girl born in Toronto (Canada), but raised since the two years in Bromley (England), of Romanian father and Chinese mother. Emma is the third player with a ranking higher than 100 (she is the 150th) after the Belgian, which he did not even have when he won in 2009, and Billie Jean King, who played without a position in the classification in the 1979 edition and reached the semifinals.

Among other things, it is very impressive about Raducanu’s career in the US major that he has not yet lost a single set in eight games., counting on the previous one, and that he has given only 22 games in the five of the main draw. He was fortunate that on his side of the table two seeds fell in the first round, Kudermetova and Muchova, and she escaped playing in the round of 16 with number one, Ashleigh Barty, who unexpectedly bumped into Rogers. In fact, Bencic was the first top-20 he faced, but he did not fail either.. She started out nervous, with a break from the disadvantage, but when she reacted she no longer looked back. He only made 12 unforced errors.

“I knew how to handle my nerves”

“I am happy to have been able to play so many games and win. I can hardly believe it, ”Raducanu told Eurosport. “I tried to be as aggressive as possible and also defend, I think I found a good balance,” he added. “I knew how to handle my nerves well, feel comfortable and enjoy myself to achieve a victory that gives me great satisfaction,” he said before apologizing “for not answering all the messages” that come to him. If he continues like this, he will blow his phone.