'Had no idea': Emma Raducanu's major confession after US Open history
Britain's Emma Raducanu admits she had no idea about the significance of her record-breaking run of form at the US Open.
The 18-year-old - ranked 150 in the world - created history at Flushing Meadows after becoming the first qualifier ever to reach the US Open semi-finals with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
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Raducanu made the world sit up and take notice after a remarkable run to the Wimbledon fourth round in July when she was ranked 338th in the world and making her grand slam debut.
Playing in just her second grand slam tournament and her first one overseas, the British teen sensation has so far won all 16 sets she has played from qualifying all the way through to the semi-finals.
Yet despite all the hype and her headline-making records, Raducanu says she's simply focused on her tennis and had no idea about her historic feat in New York.
"I have actually got no idea about any of the records at all. It's the first time I heard today that I was the first qualifier to make the semis (at the US Open). I had no idea before that," she said.
"I'm not here to chase any records right now. I'm just taking care of what I can do on the moment and on the match ahead. Haven't even started thinking about the next one yet."
The fearless 18-year-old defeated in-form Olympic champion Bencic in Wednesday's quarter-final to join her fellow teenager, Canadian Leylah Fernandez, in the last four.
Down an early break in Wednesday's quarter-final, the 150th-ranked Briton recovered swiftly to take control of a match against the infinitely more experienced Swiss opponent, who's been in the form of her life.
Like Raducanu, Bencic had reached the last eight without dropping a set over the past nine days but she struggled with her serve , choking up a pair of costly double faults in the opening set.
Yet Raducanu just maintained her momentum after taking the first set, fending off three break points in the second game of the second stanza before the Swiss handed the teenager another break with a double fault in the fifth game.
Her frustration boiled over as the match progressed, with the Swiss smacking her racquet to the ground.
Yet even when 0-30 down in her final two service games, Raducanu kept her nerve on both occasions before eventually soaking up the cheers of the New York crowd when winning a nine-shot rally on the final point.
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Her youthful heroics came after left-hander Fernandez, who's just turned 19, made a similarly improbable breakthrough with victories over hardened champions, Angelique Kerber and Elina Svitolina.
"To have so many young players here doing so well just shows how strong the next generation is," said Raducanu, who delighted young fans by taking selfies with them before she walked off court.
"Everyone is on their trajectory. I'm just here taking care of what I can control."
Despite the packed schedule, Raducanu, who will meet Maria Sakkari in the semis, has shown no signs of fatigue while demolishing opponent after opponent, and believes the extra matches helped her.
"They were very good for me to adjust to the hard courts, because it's completely different to the grass. You get away with a lot less," said the Briton, who was born in Canada to a Chinese mother and Romanian father.
"After four weeks, I think that building up the levels at the tournaments, my game got better. With each higher level tournament I played, I had to raise my game."
with AAP
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