Shelby Rogers says tennis is in ‘good hands’ with Emma Raducanu after US Open fourth round

Raducanu continues teenage rampage at the US Open with emphatic win

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Emma Raducanu was praised by her opponent following a stunning display in the US Open fourth round. The British teenager dispatched world No.43 Shelby Rogers in just 66 minutes during her debut on the Arthur Ashe Stadium to make her first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final. Although the American suffered a tough loss, she admitted she was “excited” for the 18-year-old’s future.

Raducanu was playing in the fourth round of a Major for the second successive time, having announced herself at Wimbledon with an impressive run to the second week before retiring with breathing difficulties.

The 18-year-old was yet to drop a set through three qualifying matches and three main-draw matches at the US Open as she stepped onto the biggest stadium in tennis.

She had been expected to face world Ash Barty in the round of 16, but the world No.1 was ousted by American Shelby Rogers in three sets on Saturday (September 4).

After a shaky start for Raducanu, seeing her broken to go 0-2 0-40 down, she reeled off 11 games in a row, leaving the world No.43 looking bewildered.

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The world No 150 secured a confident 6-2 6-1 win to reach the last eight in Flushing Meadows, imposing herself on the American and winning over much of the New York crowd with her complete performance.

Following her defeat to the Bromley teen, Rogers was complimentary of Raducanu and her future.

“I’m excited for her,” she said. “That’s the next generation of our sport, and it’s in good hands.”

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The 28-year-old also admitted she was left humiliated after the crushing loss but likely had nothing left in the tank after her monumental win over the top seed in the third round.

Speaking in her post-match press conference, she said: “Yeah, that was pretty embarrassing. It was a tough day at the office.

“Unfortunately I had to fail in front of thousands and thousands of people. So I have to live with that one.

“It’s a little, a lot, obviously disappointing that I couldn’t muster up a little bit more today. But, you know, I told you guys the other night it took everything I had to beat Barty. I guess that was a little apparent today.”

Raducanu herself was happy to be able to shake off the nerves and turn the match around.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” she said in her on-court interview. “Shelby is a great opponent, she’s done so well in the US Open and she’s had a great week so I knew it was going to be a tough match but I’m so happy to have come through and have managed to overcome some of the nerves at the beginning.”

The 18-year-old has looked dominant against a number of top 50 players during her run to her first-ever quarterfinal.

She beat world No 49 Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-4 in the second round before producing an astonishing win over world No 41 Sara Sorribes Tormo, who recently knocked Barty out of the Tokyo Olympics.

The Brit needed just 72 minutes to secure a confident 6-0 6-1 victory over the in-form Spaniard.

She will next face recent Olympic gold medallist and world No.12 Belinda Bencic, in what will be her toughest test yet.
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