September 05, (THEWILL) – There was British pride on display at the US Open in New York on Saturday as Emma Raducanu came up against the efficient Sara Sorribes Tormo, who had knocked world number one Ashleigh Barty out of the Olympics, and gave her a sound beating in straight sets, to progress to the fourth round in the most extraordinary fashion.
The most impressive performance was only matched by the astonishing ease with which Raducanu totally dismantled the game of the world number 41 tennis player to see Sorribes Tormo off with a bagel in the first set for a victory that ended the match with only one game to Tormo’s name: 6-0, 6-1.
The 18-year-old Raducanu continued from where she stopped at Wimbledon before severe pains forced her out of contention. The last time she lost a set was back at the start of qualifying last week and has earned herself enough points to see herself break into the world’s top 100.
But, on Saturday night, even Raducanu could hardly believe how easy she had made what was expected to be a most arduous baseline battle.
What stood out in Raducanu’s favour was the potency of her serving and groundstrokes. As Barty learnt at the Olympics, an opponent of Sorribes Tormo had to have the discipline to slug it out for every point, if necessary, and it was again mighty impressive that Raducanu was willing to do that.
Sorribes Tormo’s higher ranking, typical Spanish resilience and her 2021 record of 29 previous match wins in 2021 made the Spaniard overwhelming favorite on paper to carry the day but even the crowd in “The Pit” were appreciative as the new kid on the block completely outclassed her opponent in the first set.
Raducanu’s flat drives impressively overawed the athletic defence that Tormo mounted. The teenager continually enjoyed success driving the ball wide to the baseliner’s backhand, which looked like a pre-arranged tactic hatched with coach Andrew Richardson and it worked to great effect. There was nothing Tormo had in her locker to counter and it finished 6-0.
In the second set, the number 41 put up more of a fight. It became a real tug of war but the Brit had discovered that the Spaniard’s serve was attackable and put that discovery to good use in winning her break of serve. It was tough to imagine that Sorribes Tormo was being undone by her younger opponent with so much ease and superior tactics.
Fortunately for Sorribes Tormo, some complacency set into the 18-year-old’s play and she was eventually able to avoid the indignity of suffering the infamous “double bagel” of losing 6-0 6-0 as she executed a rare serve and volley to win one game.
It was a little too late however because Raducanu simply served out her victory to wrap up the win in an hour and 10 minutes for the highest ranked opponent that she had ever played and defeated. And, it came in the most lopsided way possible against a very difficult opponent nonetheless.
The Brit admitted that much in her post-match comments: ‘I was playing very well. I know Sara is an extremely tough opponent who doesn’t make it easy so you have to be on your game every single point.
“You have to work really hard. I am just really happy I was able to maintain my level and really stay on it at the end. For this one I knew the plan was that I had to hit through her. I just took the game to her and hit more winners than errors today.
“I have got a great team around me. We are sticking to the same routines. I’m into the second week. I never thought I would be here. The crowd is so amazing, they’ve helped me through so many moments.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
