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Monday, September 13, 2021

Stars born at US Open


The coronation of new champions Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev left tennis fans salivating at the prospect of what is to come as the curtain dropped on Grand Slam tennis for another year at the end of the US Open on Sunday.


The fans were back at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after last year’s COVID-19-enforced lockout and they witnessed drama worthy of any stage at the Broadway theatres only a few miles away.


Novak Djokovic had inevitably been given top billing because of his quest for a calendar-year Grand Slam and a 21st major title to break the three-way tie with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal as the most successful men’s player of all time.


In the second week, however, he had to share the spotlight as two new tennis stars emerged in the women’s draw.






Teenagers Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez — born two months apart in 2002, generated frenzied hype as they swept all before them on unlikely runs to the title decider.





Raducanu, having battled her way through qualifying at only her second major, emerged triumphant in the final act on Saturday with a dominant victory that captivated millions back home in Britain and around the world.


The manner of her triumph, and the fact she had reached fourth round on Wimbledon grass on her Grand Slam debut, left many wondering if Raducanu might possibly be the dominant champion women’s tennis craves.


Canadian left-hander Fernandez had the harder route to the final, beating three top-five players and multiple major champions, and did more than enough to suggest she will not be a flash-in-the-pan.






“We’ve seen other careers that have looked unstoppable but haven’t lasted very long,” said ESPN analyst Chris Evert, herself a teenage Grand Slam winner.





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