The teenage revolution at the 2021 US Open continued on Monday, with British sensation Emma Raducanu reaching her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 18-year-old did not break a sweat in her fourth-round clash against Shelby Rogers, needing just one hour and six minutes to record a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 win.
Rogers, who was coming off a stunning victory over top seed Ash Barty in the third round, got off to a dream start in this contest, immediately breaking Raducanu's serve to go 2-0 up in the first set. Unfortunately for Rogers, that woke up Raducanu as she won six consecutive games to take the opening set, 6-2.
Raducanu makes history after winning over Rogers
She continued her assault in the second set, winning the first five games to make it 11 consecutive games won from the first set. Rogers managed to break that streak in the sixth game of the second set, but she only delayed the inevitable as Raducanu finished the match in the next game.
With the win, Raducanu became just the third qualifier to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open women's singles competition in the Open Era since 1968. Raducanu joins Barbara Gerken and Kaia Kanepi in that exclusive list, who accomplished those feats in 1981 and 2017, respectively.
Raducanu's road to the quarters had been anything but easy, as she had to face top 50 players in each of her last three matches. However, she has passed those tests with flying colors, beating them all in straight sets to improve to 5-0 in her career against the Top 50 opposition.
Raducanu, who has dropped just 15 games in her four main-draw matches at the 2021 US Open, is the latest teenager to barge into the quarterfinals of the year's final Grand Slam tournament. She joins 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez and 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the elite eight here in New York.
Related Article: Budding Teenage Tennis Stars Carlos Alcaraz, Leylah Fernandez Reach Maiden Grand Slam Quarters at 2021 US Open
Bencic and Djokovic book US Open quarterfinal spots
Things are bound to get more challenging for Raducanu as she will next face Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals. The reigning Olympic champion saved four set points in the opening set before ousting seventh seed Iga Swiatek, 7-6 (12), 6-3, in a match that lasted two hours and seven minutes.
It was sweet revenge for Bencic, who absorbed a humiliating 6-2, 6-2 loss to Swiatek in their last meeting in the Adelaide final last February. The turning point in the contest came in the first-set tiebreak, with Bencic battling back from an early 2-5 deficit. Swiatek wasted several opportunities at 9-8, 10-9, and 12-11 to take the opening tiebreaker, and that proved to be costly as the 2020 French Open champion finished 2021 without a Grand Slam title.
Also reaching the quarterfinals on Monday was Novak Djokovic. He battled back from a set down to defeat American wildcard Jenson Brooksby, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Djokovic is now three wins away from achieving the historic Calendar Slam that would allow him to surpass rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the all-time Grand Slam wins list.
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