September 12, (THEWILL) – British teenage tennis sensation, Emma Raducanu, capped a historic performance in a Grand Slam on Saturday when she defeated Leylah Fernandez of Canada in straight sets 6-4 6-3 to win the US Open.
The win ended Britain’s 44-year wait for a female tennis singles champion.
The extent of the sporting triumph that Raducanu achieved at Flushing Meadows went deeper than simply becoming the first British woman to clinch a Grand Slam singles title for 44 years, because she also became the first qualifier in the Open era to not only reach a Grand Slam final but go on to win it.
Raducanu played tennis that belied her age. Her steely focus was in no way remotely fazed by the big occasion and the Brit held her composure, even in the face of late drama. It was this champion mentality that ensured she became the first British woman to win the US Open singles title in 53 years.
In a competition that had seen no opponents of Raducanu’s ever push her to a tie-break, there were indications that the Brit intended to make sure she went through the competition with that record firmly in tact.
Right out the blocks, Raducanu put Fernandez under pressure by breaking her serve at the first opportunity in the second game of the first set after a pulsating extended deuce in front of a raucous crowd inside Arthur Ashe.
The clearest indications of how deserving either finalists were to be in the final came as the Canadian broke Raducanu with just as equally impressive a game of tennis as the Brit had displayed to take her service. It was an electrifying response that was borne out of Fernandez’s dazzling array of groundstrokes.
The crowds cheered as the first all-teenage final since Serena Williams versus Martina Hingis in 1999 was delivering on its promise of the highest standard right from the outset with the pair fearlessly trading hits from both sides of the court.
There was no way to know where the momentum will swing in favour of one player or the other. This left the resolution of the opening set on a knife-edge throughout as the finalists comfortably cancelled out each other so perfectly.
Raducanu was the one to send a flashing forehand winner, which created the breakthrough that she ruthlessly capitalised on to grab her fourth set point on a Fernandez serve. It was a calculated display of her tactical prowess and overall game plan and it helped her take the first set.
There was a standard response to Fernandez going behind as the Canadian stepped up her game to return the favour and immediately put the Brit under immense pressure. The world number 73, who had knocked out a series of top players on her way to the finals including defending champion Naomi Osaka, fifth seed Elina Svitolina, world number two Aryna Sabalenka and three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, was taking the challenge to Raducanu.
It was the turn of the history-maker Raducanu to show that she had also earned her stripes on reaching the final. The teenager, who was solely responsible for sending Sara Sorribes Tormo and Shelby Rogers home after they had previously beaten world number one Ashleigh Barty, at the Olympics and the US Open respectively also brushed off Olympics Gold medalist Belinda Bencic.
In all of these, at no single time did she drop a single set, a streak Raducanu began in the qualifier and faithfully held to the final. When she struck straight back with a sublime backhand winner closing out an immediate break back to ensure Fernandez could not level up the match, she was enforcing her determination to keep the final a two-setter.
The crowd’s appreciation of the intermittently involved standing ovations for the enjoyable tennis that the finalists were delivering and the excellent display Raducanu was putting on. When the Brit zipped to her right and unleashed an outrageous forehand winner to break Fernandez’s serve once again, it was becoming clearer that Raducanu was going to change the history of female tennis with her leading 4-2 in the second set.
Although, she slipped and required some medical attention during the game, Raducanu demonstrated her now identifiable composure and graceful poise to nervelessly close out one of the most incredible Grand Slam triumphs in memory to make history on the biggest stage in the sport
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
