Raducanu, 18, 1st qualifier in semifinals; Zverev wins
NEW YORK — When Emma Raducanu got to Flushing Meadows to try to win her way through qualifying and earn what would be a berth in her second Grand Slam tournament, she was not planning on a particularly long stay.
Look at her now, two weeks into this adventure: The 18-year-old from Britain is the first qualifier in the professional era to reach the U.S. Open semifinals. And she hasn’t even dropped a set yet.
“My flights were booked at the end of qualifying,” Raducanu said with a chuckle Wednesday, “so it’s a nice problem to have.”
Showing off the shots and poise of someone much more experienced, the 150th-ranked Raducanu became the second unseeded teen in two days to secure a spot in the final four, eliminating Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Not bad for someone ranked outside the top 350 in June after going about 1 ½ years without a match — in part because of the coronavirus pandemic, in part because her parents wanted her to finish high school.
“I’m not here to chase any records right now,” said Raducanu, only the third woman not ranked in the top 100 to make it this far at the U.S. Open and only the fourth qualifier to advance to the semifinals at any major tournament since the Open era began in 1968. “I’m just taking care of what I can do (in) the moment.”
Raducanu has won all 16 sets she has contested through eight matches in New York — three during the qualifying rounds and another five in the main draw. She next will face No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up, or No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece, a semifinalist at this year’s French Open, on Thursday.
The other women’s semifinal will be 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez of Canada against No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
In the men’s quarterfinals Wednesday, Olympic champion and 2020 U.S. Open runner-up Alexander Zverev stretched his
winning streak to 16 matches with a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4 victory over unseeded Lloyd Harris.
Harris went up 5-3 in the opening set but got broken while serving for it. He then held a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker but couldn’t convert, and the fourth-seeded Zverev was on his way. The 24-year-old from Germany grabbed the next three points for that set, then moved out to leads of 3-0 in the second and 4-0 in the third.
“Somehow managed to win that first set,” Zverev said. “Loosened me up a little bit.”
Shortly after he lost to Dominic Thiem in last year’s final at Flushing Meadows, Zverev was accused by a former girlfriend of domestic abuse, allegations he repeatedly has denied.
His second consecutive U.S. Open semifinal will come against No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is bidding for a calendar-year Grand Slam, or No. 6 Matteo Berrettini. Their quarterfinal, a rematch of the Wimbledon final won by Djokovic in July, was scheduled for Wednesday night.
“I am going to watch it, like everybody else, I guess,” Zverev said. “I hope it goes for 8 hours and 30 minutes.”