The teen takeover of this US Open continues to hit new heights.
British qualifier Emma Raducanu rocketed through 11 straight games thrashing Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0, 6-1 to reach her second straight Grand Slam fourth round.
More: Alcaraz Shocks Tsitsipas
The 18-year-old Raducanu is the youngest British woman to advance to the last 16 in Flushing Meadows since left-hander Laura Robson in 2012.
Ranked outside of the Top 350 as recently as June, Raducanu followed up her Wimbledon break-out performance with an even more impressive effort in New York.
The youngest woman still standing in the field, Raducanu has not dropped a set in three qualifying round wins and three main draw wins to set up a fourth-round clash vs. American Shelby Rogers, who shocked world No. 1 Ash Barty 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(5).
“I'm pretty motivated for any situation that I'm thrown into,” Raducanu said.
Raducanu is not only a talented teenager, she’s a devoted tennis fan. So watching fellow 18-year-olds Leylah Fernandez and Carlos Alcaraz score electrifying upsets on Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday—Fernandez dethroned defending champion Naomi Osaka after Alcaraz upset third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas—inspired Raducanu to keep the coming of age party going.
“I think that to have so many young players coming through is just really great for the game, because it just shows how strong this next generation is,” Raducanu said. “I think that having so many young players and 18-year-olds, I think we all inspire each other to play better.
“Because like for me today, I wanted to join them in the second week as well, so that was an extra bit of motivation. Yeah, both of them, they are very, very nice people. I'm very happy for them, and also very happy for myself that I can also go into the second week.”
On the grass of Wimbledon the then world No. 338 Raducanu unleashed an eight-game surge surprising Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 7-5 to make history as the youngest British woman to reach the Wimbledon round of 16. She did it without surrendering a set.
Prior to her dream run at Wimbledon, Raducanu’s best career win was a victory over world No. 112 Timea Babos on the grass of Nottingham in June.
Now, she's posted four Top-50 wins combined at Wimbledon and the US Open and will try to continue her major move against the world No. 1 or Rogers.
Photo credit: Brad Penner/USTA/US Open