British teen Emma Raducanu matched the deepest run by any qualifier in US Open history on Monday, rolling into the quarterfinals and mastering the nervy atmosphere of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 18-year-old defeated American Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1 and had US Open fans cheering her over a home-nation heroine as she booked a last-eight date with Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic.
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“I’m feeling very confident and happy with how I’m performing out here in the States,” Raducanu said.
“I feel like I’m building with each match. I’m really excited to see what I can do on Wednesday.”
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Raducanu, the Canadian-born daughter of a Chinese mother and Romanian father, made her WTA debut in June and her Grand Slam debut with a fourth-round run at Wimbledon.
She is the third teenager in the US Open quarterfinal. On Sunday, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Canadian Leylah Fernandez had clinched their last eight berths.
Djokovic rolls on
Novak Djokovic needs just nine more sets to complete the calendar-year Grand Slam after surviving an early scare against American Jenson Brooksby at the US Open.
Closing in on history.@DjokerNole #USOpen pic.twitter.com/zqFvqoFdus
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 7, 2021
In a gruelling showdown under the lights, the top seed overcame a first-set wipe-out to beat the dogged Brooksby 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and 58 minutes.
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Djokovic extended his unbeaten Head2Head against Americans at their home Slam to 11-0 and his winning streak against Americans overall to 21.
In a rematch of the Wimbledon final, Djokovic will next meet sixth seed Matteo Berrettini.
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Berrettini was made to work hard Monday at the US Open as he battled past qualifier Oscar Otte 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in New York for a second time.
The World No. 8 has fond memories at Flushing Meadows, having enjoyed a run to his first major semi-final at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2019.
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Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev won his 15th consecutive match on Monday, defeating Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(6) to reach the US Open quarterfinals.
