US Open final: Teen sensations Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez eye historic title
US Open final: Raducanu vs Fernandez
British 18-year-old Emma Raducanu on Thursday (September 9) became the first qualifier in history to make a Grand Slam final when she reached a fairytale US Open decider against another teenager, 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez.
Fernandez and Raducanu will clash in one of the most improbable US Open finals on Saturday (September 11), the teenagers' fearless tennis bringing them to the cusp of becoming the sport's newest major champion.
A historic clash
Their title clash under the lights at the Arthur Ashe Stadium will be the first major final in the Open Era in either the men's and women's game to feature two unseeded players.
Canadian Fernandez, who turned 19 this week, was ranked 73rd coming into the hardcourt Grand Slam while 18-year-old Briton Raducanu was 150th in the women's rankings.
Teen dream!
The US Open final will be the first tour-level meeting between them but the pair previously clashed in the second round of the 2018 Wimbledon juniors when Raducanu won 6-2, 6-4.
It will also mark the first Grand Slam final to be contested by two teenagers since Serena Williams and Martina Hingis met in the 1999 US Open title clash.
Emma Raducanu
The first British woman to reach a major final since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977, Raducanu can jump to 24th in the rankings with her first title while the left-handed Fernandez can make her top 20 debut by winning the US Open.
The Briton has, however, had a less arduous path to the final. She has not dropped a set in her nine matches at Flushing Meadows to become the first qualifier - in men's and women's tennis - to reach a major final.
Leylah Fernandez
In contrast, Fernandez has had to conjure every ounce of her fighting spirit to move past the heavyweights of women's tennis and be in a position to give Canada its second US Open women's title in three years after Bianca Andreescu's 2019 triumph.
The Canadian had to defeat three top-five players and a multiple major winner in her last four matches - all in three sets - to book her spot in the final.
(With inputs from agencies)
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