18 Year-Old Qualifier Emma Raducanu Steamrolls Over Ashleigh Barty’s Slayer, Moves to Quarter-Finals at US Open 2021

Time and time again, WTA has always sprung up exciting proteges for fans to get excited and follow the sport with enthusiasm. One such youngster that shot to fame during the Wimbledon Championships this year was Emma Raducanu.

Sep 6, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom hits to Shelby Rogers of the USA on day eight of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

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Before Wimbledon, Raducanu showed success on the ITF circuit. During her successful stint at SW19, the young Britisher managed to dismantle the likes of Marketa Vondrousova and Sorana Cirstea before announcing a walk-over against Ajla Tomljanovic in the fourth round.

With an increasing amount of fan base with each passing victory, Raducanu found it difficult to handle the emotions on court and allowed Tomljanovic to move to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Since then, the tennis world has been waiting for the Brit to prove her mettle at yet another big event. As expected, Raducanu entered the main draw after winning all of her three qualifier matchups.

Even in the main draw, the Brit displayed consistent performances and reached the pre-quarters, where she faced the biggest challenge of the tournament so far in the form of Shelby Rogers.

Sep 6, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Shelby Rogers of the USA hits to Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom on day eight of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Rogers, who was struggling to find decent form ahead of the US Open, stunned the tennis world when she outclassed world number one Ashleigh Barty in the third-round at Arthur Ashe Stadium. In fact, the American will head into the fourth round matchup as the clear favorite.

Let’s see how the match progressed.

Emma Raducanu dominated Shelby Rogers to reach maiden quarter-finals at the US Open 2021

Satisfying the Arthur Ashe crowd, Rogers got off to a great start as Raducanu struggled with nerves as she was playing on a big stage. Unable to capitalize on her opponent’s nerves, the American allowed Raducanu to settle into the match and didn’t exert any pressure on her.

Once the Brit began to cleanly strike the ball, she found her groove and displayed top notch tennis by hitting numerous forehand winners. In no time, Raducanu was all over Rogers and captured the first set, 6-2.

Sep 6, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom serves to Shelby Rogers of the USA on day eight of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

As it was their first meeting, Rogers appeared clueless as to what her game plan must be heading into the second set. In addition to this, unforced errors began crawling out of her racquet as she got broken by Raducanu twice in the set.

Just when it looked like the American was about to get bageled by Raducanu, the crowd instilled some belief in Rogers as she managed to get on score board. Serving to reach her maiden grand slam quarter-finals, Raducanu didn’t flinch and handled the pressure extremely well to defeat Shelby Rogers, 6-2,6-1.

Emma Raducanu will now face Belinda Bencic in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

Also read: Who Are Emma Raducanu’s Parents? Their Nationality, Occupation and More

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