Great Britain's Emma Raducanu who marched into her first major final on Thursday stated she is surprised by her tennis level at the ongoing US Open.
Raducanu in the semi-final continued her dominant form at the Flushing Meadows by defeating Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4. The 18-year-old became the first qualifier, male or female, to ever advance to a major final.
"I always had dreams of playing in Grand Slams, but I just didn't know when they would come," Raducanu said, as per wtatennis.com. "To come this early, at this point in my career, I've only really been on tour for a month, two months since Wimbledon. It's pretty crazy to me."
"Leading up to the US Open I had a lot of matches coming in," Raducanu said. "I played a 125 in Chicago, a 100K the week before. I think I was building with each match. Here in the US Open, I wasn't really sure how my level was going to be. In a way, my tennis level has surprised me that I've managed to step up against some of the best players in the world."
Raducanu ranked No. 150, is yet to drop a set all tournament. Since the start of qualifying, she has won 18 consecutive sets and she has dropped a mere 27 games in her six main-draw victories.
The British teenager also joined Pam Shriver (1978), Venus Williams (1997) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the fourth player to have played the final on her US Open main draw debut. Only Andreescu, who defeated Serena Williams for the title two years ago in Flushing Meadows, has claimed the US Open title on her debut.
Raducanu will now face 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez on Championship Saturday, in the first all-teenage major final since Serena Williams defeated Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open.
( With inputs from ANI )
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