A first of many! Emma Raducanu scripts history and becomes the first qualifier in tennis history to win a grand slam, beats Leylah Fernandez in the 2021 US Open final
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Emma Raducanu
18-year old Emma Raducanu completes her fairy tale run at the 2021 US Open with a victory over Leylah Fernandez to become the first qualifier in tennis history to win a grand slam. She beat the Canadian in straight sets 6-4,6-3 to win her maiden grand slam at Flushing Meadows.
She has won the tournament without dropping a set and has become the youngest grand slam champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004.
Despite being their first major final, neither player looked nervous or stressed at the start, speaking volumes about their mental strength. They were taking their chances on merit and weren’t holding the shots back. They engaged in long rallies and were holding serve comfortably until the 10th game. Fernandez was serving to stay in the set at 4-5 but wasn’t able to hold serve and lost the first set 4-6.
As dominant as ever, Raducanu continued her unbeaten run and was yet to drop a set all tournament. She was just a set away from writing history but the Canadian wasn’t going to give up. Fernandez was the first one to break in the second set. But Raducanu held her nerve to break back and soon took a 5-2 lead.
The Brit had 2 match points on Fernandez’s serve but couldn’t convert. She then had to save break points herself and even went through a short medical timeout before serving an ace to close out the set 6-2 and script history!
Also read: Emma Raducanu: Best pictures and videos from US Open 2021
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Lakshya Chopra
(2648 Articles Published)