The case was badly embarked for Emma Raducanu against Belinda Bencic. Serving to start the match, the 18-year-old was very close to a shutout. Signs of nervousness then appeared in the Briton, who had abandoned in the round of 16 at Wimbledon a few weeks earlier, in the throes of “Breathing difficulties”. Still moaning often to her box in the second game, she didn’t do much better on Belinda Bencic’s serve, who put the pressure on her firmly to 2-0.
But in the next game, the nugget from qualifying got back in the saddle with good serve, to stay on the lookout at 2-1. Bencic, the gold medalist at the Tokyo Games, was no more worried, however, and had a shutout, to which her inexperienced opponent replied in the same way. Snarling, bent on her knees until touching the buttocks on the ground, Raducanu returned the blows and offered herself two break balls, which allowed her to pick up at 3-3. Then unfold in a surprising way, finally finding solutions, in particular by powerful forehands, including a long line which offered him his first break point. If it took her one more to do so, she disturbed the Swiss enough to win the heat 6-3.
“Belinda can only win with her attack, Emma can do it in two ways”
Commenting on the second set, Chris Evert analyzed: “ Belinda can only win with her offense, while Emma can win with her defense too. “. If youthful errors always pointed out, in particular on a forehand missed at 15-30 in the first game, instead of offering two break points, his inexperience also rhymes with a liberating recklessness, which continued to make his eldest break down. .
The world number 12 is however regularly advised by her compatriots Martina Hingis and Roger Federer. But even his long balls, repeatedly hitting the baseline, didn’t worry his tenacious youngest. After a superb return, she offered herself two break points then went to 3-2 on a double fault, before holding her own service at 4-2 on a shutout, Bencic having no other solution than to banging his racket to the ground, in frustration.
Very calm, she, Raducanu, encouraged by the American public of the Arthur-Ashe court, which she only trod for the second time, even managed to afford a break point in the next game, but the native of Wollerau ( Switzerland) somehow saved his service this time. She failed to gain an advantage at 0-30, however, releasing a backhand into the net when the serve returned at 40-30, after another avalanche. Bencic served for his survival, even concluding with an ace.
But at 5-4 on her entry, the native of Toronto, who landed in London at the age of two, daughter of a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, would make history, First with a superb outside ace for 40 -30, before a return from Bencic, on his second ball, which failed in the net. Become the first player from qualifying to reach the semi-finals of the US Open, Emma Raducanu reacted by taking her head in her hands, with a smile from ear to ear. Incredulous. Unbelievable.
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