‘It definitely motivates me’ – Emma Raducanu on US Open teen triumphs

Emma Raducanu is drawing inspiration and drive from the success of her fellow youngsters as we approach the business end in New York.

The British 18-year-old reached the quarter-finals of a Slam for the first time by conquering Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In doing so, Raducanu joined the likes of 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez and 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in reaching the quarter-finals of their respective draws at the US Open.

Raducanu is clearly pumped up by the other young competitors, revealing as much following her victory.

“I mean, it definitely plays a part in motivation,” Raducanu admitted. “I wanted to join them as well.

“But, everyone’s on their own trajectory, and I’m just so happy to have been able to focus on my game and get to the quarter-finals.”

The Brit has come through qualifying and four rounds of the main draw without dropping a set, winning 14 consecutive sets across seven matches.

Next up, Raducanu will face Swiss Olympic gold medallist and 2019 US Open semi-finalist Belinda Bencic for a place in the last four.

“Belinda’s a great player who’s in great form so I know I’m gonna have to bring it on Wednesday.

“It’s just gonna be who can dictate and I’m not really thinking about tennis right now. But, I’ll leave that for tomorrow.”

On top of a first Slam quarter-final, Raducanu will see herself rocket up the WTA rankings no matter her result against the Swiss.

She is set to break into the top-100 for the first time in her career to at least world number 74, a massive leap from her current career-high 150.

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