US Open 2021 tennis - How far will surging Emma Raducanu go as she faces Shelby Rogers in fourth round?

Two months after making the fourth round on her Grand Slam main-draw debut, Emma Raducanu is back in the same position on her US Open debut. How’s that for progress?

In an opening week filled with drama and stories, the 18-year-old’s remarkable run in New York has almost gone under the radar. At least it had until she swatted aside Sara Sorribes Tormo in incredible fashion in the third round, losing just one game and playing some scintillating tennis.

It’s impossible not to be impressed watching Raducanu. She has the power – as she showed in completely destroying Sorribes Tormo with 23 winners hit from all over the court – she has a solid serve with room for improvement, she moves and defends well, and seems to be a smart tactician.

Former British No 1 Annabel Croft says Raducanu’s competitive spirit reminds her of Andy Murray – “she is so gritty for such a young player” – while her “strong tennis IQ” and movement is similar to another former world No 1.

“She knows what to do tactically because she closely analyses her opponents beforehand,” Croft told the Times. “Her movement is similar to the former world No 1 Simona Halep in the way that she glides around the court and looks so effortless.”

This must have been a whirlwind summer for Raducanu. At Wimbledon she joked about needing “to do more laundry” after her remarkable run to the fourth round, but the reaction to her exit sparked far more serious conversations. Raducanu, who was playing in her first Grand Slam main draw and second tour-level event, retired at 4-6 0-3 down against Ajla Tomljanovic because of “difficulty in breathing”. Rather than being praised for her successful run, Raducanu then found her “mental toughness” being questioned by John McEnroe, Piers Morgan and Kevin Pietersen among others.

But, with Andy Murray and Marcus Rashford both coming to her defence, Raducanu seems to have not only moved on from that incident and the social media furore around it, but learned from it.

“Wimbledon taught me how physical I had to be every single match and at the end, it was my physicality that let me down,” she said last week.

“Now having played four or five weeks, I’m still extremely fresh and new to the whole situation but I think, given the matches that I’ve played, I’ve been able to keep up a lot more physically and that’s definitely the biggest standout thing in my game now, which is going to take me far or going to limit me.”

She took a few weeks off after Wimbledon and then headed across the Atlantic to play in a few lower-tier events, including the Silicon Valley Classic and the Chicago Challenger, where she beat top seed Alison Van Uytvanck and made the final. The preparation seems to be paying off as she is yet to drop a set across six matches in qualifying and the main draw at the US Open. From being outside the top 350 in June, Raducanu is now set to break into the top 100 after this tournament.

How she climbs depends how far she goes. She next faces unseeded American Shelby Rogers after her impressive display to knock out world No 1 Ashleigh Barty in three sets. Rogers, 28, made the quarter-finals in New York last year and will be backed by the home crowd. But Raducanu has more than a chance, especially if she continues to play as she has done so far.

The way she has attacked in each match has particularly stood out. Through qualifying she spent far more time in attacking positions on the court than defensive positions, and she has continued to look to move into the court and move her opponent. In her second-round win over Shuai Zhang the US Open stats say she won 77 per cent of points when she was the first player to change the direction in the rally. Her forehand and backhand down the line have also been very effective.

Raducanu is the youngest British woman to reach this stage of the US Open since Laura Robson in 2012, and won’t mind starting as the underdog against Rogers. In fact, it’s a position she enjoys, and one she thrived in earlier this summer when she got drawn against Van Uytvanck in Chicago.

"When I saw the Chicago draw I was secretly loving it, because I love a challenge," she said. "I practiced with Alison on the grass and she's got a huge game. I knew it was going to be a very difficult match, but I like being the underdog. You feel like you've got nothing to lose."

Raducanu has said she feels like her game is “just getting better with each match”, and Eurosport's Mats Wilander has described her as "the real deal". Rogers, meanwhile, is expecting a tough contest.

"I’m going to have to do a little bit of scouting I think but she’s fearless," said the American after her shock win over Barty. "She is playing very well and she’s inspired. It’s really cool to see the younger generation coming up in this tournament, getting some big wins. It’s impressive and it’s going to be a battle."

If Raducanu gets past Rogers then the draw only gets tougher, with 11th seed Belinda Bencic or seventh seed Iga Swiatek lying in wait. But Raducanu has shown enough so far to suggest that she should not be taken lightly.