Emma Raducanu has become the first British woman to be playing a Grand Slam final since 1977 after a staggering victory against Greek 17th-seed Maria Sakkari in New York.
The 18-year-old Raducanu extended her dream run with a 6-1 6-4 victory.
In the last semi-final, Raducanu faced seven break points in her opening two service games but held firm in both, and inflicted serious damage on her opponents’ serve too. After less than half an hour, the English teen led the opening set 5-0, and the set was soon wrapped up after just 37 minutes.
Further break opportunities came and went, but Raducanu’s serve was solid enough that it didn’t matter, as she secured a nerveless 6-1 6-4 win.
The teenager tributes the victory to the LTA in her post-match interview she expressed that she was focusing solely on herself adding that while she had the moment but she really wanted to thank her team, the LTA, and everyone back home who supported her.
The young prodigy said, “Tonight playing under the lights on Arthur Ashe, it’s one of the most iconic things in tennis and I was just so excited to come out here and play in front of you guys. Thank you for coming.”
She will be facing another teen, the Canadian Fernandez, in the final who has defeated the second seed Aryana Sabalenka in an exhausting three-setter.
Fernandez’s run to the final has been even more impressive than Raducanu’s, with defeats to the third seed Naomi Osaka, fifth seed Elina Svitolina and 2016 US Open winner Angelique Kerber.