Emma Raducanu, 18, and Leylah Fernandez, 19, will fight in the final at the US Open to win their first Grand Slam Cup.
Young tennis players Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez are preparing to compete against each other after a stunning run at the Grand Slam final at the US Open.
Raducanu of Britain and Fernandez of Canada meet Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where one of them will take on his first Grand Slam title.
Eighteen-year-old Raducanu has managed to become the first to take part in the final Grand Slam competition and the last to graduate from the Grand Slam in 17 years.
“I’m the last one and I can’t believe it,” he said, according to AFP.
Raducanu, who wants to be Britain’s first woman to win a Grand Slam since Virginia Wade’s Wimbledon in 1977, was mid-retirement sports in its fourth edition of Wimbledon in July, on the subject of unspecified health.
Former tennis player John McEnroe and many others complained that Raducanu had left because he could not cope with the pressure of the event.
“Today I don’t care about anyone but myself,” said Raducanu after winning the match against Greek athlete Maria Sakkari on Thursday and becoming the finalist.
British novelist Tim Henman was one of Raducanu’s listeners.
“Tim is a great encouragement,” Raducanu said. “She’s been helping me, telling me, ‘take one step at a time. You have to stay in the moment and you can’t make up for it.'”
The British athlete, born to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, has now won nine consecutive matches.
Fernandez, 19, managed to finish with a brace against Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday with goals not seen in the Grand Slam since Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2012.
“Now I can say that I have done a very good job of realizing my dream,” Fernandez said.
“I just want to play the last game. I will be happy with my victory and I will regret it tomorrow, ”he added.
Saturday’s game will be the last of its kind since 17-year-old Williams beat 18-year-old Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open.