US Open 2021
New York set for battle of prodigies
Historic teen Slam final not a fluke as duo ride on form and self-belief to realise their dreams
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NEW YORK • Two teenage women who were barely known to anyone other than the most devout tennis fans before this US Open will vie for the singles championship today, in what has to be the most improbable match-up for a Grand Slam final in the modern era.
On a Thursday night that would have been shocking had Emma Raducanu of Britain and Leylah Fernandez of Canada not been pulling rabbits out of their hats for the better part of two weeks, the two sensations once again knocked off seasoned pros who exist in a different stratosphere in the rankings.
First, world No. 73 Fernandez outlasted second seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4, in a nervy, error-filled match that saw both players let go of chances to put the battle away long before the Belarusian finished herself off with one last flurry of double faults.
It was the 19-year-old Fernandez's third win in four matches against top-five opponents.
She is guaranteed a first appearance in the top 30 when the new rankings are released next week and will break into the top 20 if she wins the Slam.
Then, Raducanu took the stage at Arthur Ashe Stadium and did what she has been doing for more than a week - blitzing players far more accomplished and making them play their worst matches of the tournament.
The 18-year-old ambushed 17th seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-1, 6-4 to set up the first Grand Slam final in the Open era across both the men's and women's games to feature two unseeded players.
Raducanu, ranked 150th in the world entering the hard-court event but now poised to enter the top 30 with another victory, had to play three qualifying matches just to get into the main draw.
Including those three matches, she has now faced nine opponents in New York and has yet to drop a set. She is the first qualifier to reach the final of the US Open in the Open era.
Today's showpiece match at Flushing Meadows will also mark the first Slam final to be contested by two teenagers since the 1999 US Open between Serena Williams and Martina Hingis.
Neither Fernandez nor Raducanu were born then and they have not faced each other on the WTA Tour before, although there is history in the junior ranks.
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HOW THE FINALISTS MATCH UP
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EMMA RADUCANU (GBR) LEYLAH FERNANDEZ (CAN)
- 18 Age 19
- 150 WORLD RANKING 73
- 0 GRAND SLAM TITLES 0
- 0 CAREER WTA TITLES 0
- - BEST US OPEN RESULT R64 (2020)
- 0 SETS DROPPED 4
- 11hr 34min TIME ON COURT 12hr 45min
- 9 UNBEATEN STREAK 6
- 0 HEAD TO HEAD 0
- Did you know?
The women's final is played on the 20th anniversary of the Sept 11 terror attacks. Both finalists were not even born in 2001. - Stat attack
Fernandez is the first woman to defeat three WTA top-five players at any Grand Slam since Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2012
"We first encountered each other because I was born in Toronto and she was Canadian, so we kind of, like, made a little relationship back then," said Raducanu, whose parents moved to England when she was two.
"But, yeah, then I played her at junior Wimbledon. Obviously, since then we've both come very far in our games and as people. Yeah, I'm sure it's going to be extremely different to when we last encountered each other.
"But we're both playing good tennis so it will be a good match."
Just two years after Bianca Andreescu won the 2019 edition, Fernandez can emulate her compatriot and become only the second Canadian to win a singles Slam title.
The wait has been even longer for a British women's singles champion - Virginia Wade was the last to do so when she won Wimbledon in 1977.
Either prodigy will claim their maiden Slam today but Raducanu, who first caught the eye when she made it to the round of 16 on her Wimbledon debut in July, is at ease despite anticipation building back home.
"Is there any expectation?" she said. "I'm a qualifier so technically on paper, there's no pressure on me... I always had dreams of playing in Grand Slams but I just didn't know when they would come."
The same applies to Fernandez, with both players crediting self-belief for getting this far.
"Like my dad would tell me all the time, there's no limit to my potential to what I can do," she said.
"It's like I think one word that really stuck to me is 'magical', because not only is my run really good, but also the way I'm playing right now."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, NYTIMES
