Emma Radukanu is the youngest Grand Slam champion after Maria Sharapova

And there she was, at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, defeating Canadian teenager Leyla Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final to complete an unexpected – indeed, unprecedented – and surprising journey to major champions. Raised the Silver Trophy.

“You say, ‘I want to win a Grand Slam.’ But to believe I did, and actually executed by winning a Grand Slam,” Radukanu said, adding, “I can’t believe it.

Who can?

It’s all so impossible.

Until three months ago, she had never played in a professional tour-level event, as she took 18 months off for several reasons: the pandemic and her parents’ insistence that she complete her high school degree.

“It’s definitely very hard to please my dad,” said 18-year-old Radukanu with a smile on Saturday evening. “But I managed to do today.”

She is the first female qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final, let alone winning one. She captured 10 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows – three in qualifying, seven in the main draw – and is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to win a US Open title without dropping a set.

Radukanu, who was born in Toronto and moved to England with her family at the age of 2, is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles trophy since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977. Queen Elizabeth II sent a congratulatory note lauding the victory. As a “remarkable achievement” at such a young age.

There were many more before, which were a testament to how rapid this growth was. For example: Radukanu is the youngest female Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova was 17 years old at Wimbledon in 2004.

It was the first major final between the two teenagers, when Williams, 17, defeated 18-year-old Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open; and the first between two unseeded women in the professional era, which began in 1968.

Fernandez, whose 19th birthday was on Monday and who is ranked 73rd, was asked during a pre-match interview in the hallway that leads from the locker room to the entrance to the court, which he described as Saturday’s biggest challenge. was expected.

“Honestly,” he replied, “I don’t know.”

Neutral. Neither she nor Radukanu could have it.

It was only Fernandez’s seventh major tournament; She had not been able to advance past the third round.

Tears welled up in her eyes after the final, telling the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium: “I look forward to being back here in the final and this time with a trophy – right.”

Moments later, he asked for a microphone so that he could address the 23,703 audience again on the anniversary of 9/11.

Fernandez, who was born a year after the terrorist attacks, said, “I just want to say that I hope I can be as strong and resilient as New York has been over the past 20 years. Thank you for always having my back .Thank you for cheering for me.”

She and Radukanu both displayed the chivalry and shot-making of veterans at the US Open – not two relative newcomers who had last faced off in the second round of the Wimbledon juniors event just three years earlier.

Both have unmistakable talent and affinity for the big stage.

One of the key differences on the day: Fernandez made only 58% of his first serve in the game and ended up with five double faults, helping Radukanu accumulate 18 break points.

“Unfortunately, I made more than one mistake at crucial moments,” Fernandez said, “and he took advantage of it.”

Radukanu took a 4–2 lead in the second set, 5–2 and was one point from winning the title twice in the next game. But under pressure from Fernandez, he squandered both those opportunities by hitting a groundstroke in the net.

Then, serving for the match at 5-3, Radukanu slipped onto the court chasing a ball, leaving his left knee in a pool of blood, while losing a point to give Fernandez a break. Redukanu was ordered to stop playing by chair umpire Marijana Veljovic so that a trainer could put a bandage on the cut.

So what was going through Radukanu’s mind during the delay of more than four minutes at a crucial juncture?

“Really trying to think of what my playing patterns would be, what I was going to try to do,” she said. “Facing one break point after another… Disruption isn’t easy. I think I’ve managed to really pull off clutch plays when needed, of course.”

Like she had before, Radukanu saved a pair of break points after the restart, then converted on her third chance to close it with 108 mph. She dropped her racket, lay on her back and covered her face with both hands.

Eventually, he made his way into the stands to celebrate with his coach and others.

“It’s something you always think about, you always work on,” she said.

Fernandez’s group — including two sisters and mom, but not dad, who stayed home in Florida, where they moved several years earlier after their early success in the Juniors — was in the guest box at the opposite end of the court, which was assigned High quality player.

It’s a position Fernandez was not used to as she beat four consecutive seeded women in three sets: defending champion Naomi Osaka and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 5 Elina Svitolina.

This means that Fernandez spent more than 12 1/2 hours on the court through his six matches; Radukanu’s main draw was about 7 1/2 hours in total.

This seemed to be a factor, especially in the second half of the 1-hour, 51-minute final.

From a 4-all in the opening set, Radukanu went on to win eight of the last 11 matches. When she broke down to take that set with a well-deserved, well-established forehand winner, she looked at her crew, then smacked her arms—and fans reacted.

Radukanu’s only previous Grand Slam tournament was at Wimbledon, where he stopped playing during the fourth round due to shortness of breath. That was in July, when Radukanu was ranked outside the top 300 and an unknown.

and now? She will be in the top 25 of the WTA. He earned $2.5 million. He is famous in the UK and around the world. He is a Grand Slam champion now and forever.

How quickly everything changed.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.