Emma Raducanu wins US Open LIVE REACTION: Brit BEATS Leylah Fernandez in stunning straight sets victory – updates

RADUCANU'S REACTION

Emma Raducanu has hailed her US Open win as 'pretty unbelievable' after her straight sets win over Leylah Fernandez.

In an interview while clutching the US Open trophy, she said: "It’s pretty unbelievable. Never did I think when I came here to New York that I would walk away with the title.

"We were joking about making it a three-week stay here but it actually happened and I think the key to that has just been really focusing on one point at a time.

"I haven’t got ahead of myself in any moment in any of the matches, so that’s something that I’m very proud of and I managed to stay extremely focused and it managed to get me the title."

'THAT'S INSANE'

Emma Raducanu started 2021 ranked 345th in the world.

Her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in the summer helped her to no150 before the start of the US Open.

But her historic win at Flushing Meadows means the 18-year-old is now ranked 23RD in the world.

And she could barely believe her ranking, saying: "Wow! I didn’t know that! That’s insane!"

ANDY'S ADDRESS

There was some controversy last night as Emma Raducanu took a medical time-out while serving for the match after suffering a nasty graze to her knee.

Her opponent Leylah Fernandez was witnessed seemingly arguing with a US Open official while the match was put on hold.

But former professional Andy Roddick has quickly settled the debate, saying: "Everyone trying to kill joy by overreacting to the stoppage in play to stop the knee bleeding, just stop …. It’s not even Emma’s call.

"They will not allow active bleeding while on court. Had to be addressed. Out of her control. This match won’t be defined by that. Just stop."

MORE FROM WADE

Virginia Wade went on to say: “Emma just played well from start to finish.

“And they must have been terrified, to be frank, because it is such a big occasion, there was so much more going on with the particular day being 9/11.

“And just all the incredible attention that these two players got. They did a stunning job and it ended up being pretty decisive but well, well, well deserved.”

'ONE OF A KIND'

Virginia Wade was the last British woman to win a tennis Grand Slam, triumphing at Wimbledon in 1977.

And the 76-year-old was in the Arthur Ashe Stadium last night to witness Raducanu's historic win.

She told ITV News: “Let’s face it, Emma is one of a kind.

“As an 18-year-old you dream of being the youngest, the first one to win this that or the other and, for her, it’s happened. That’s hard to come by and Emma is just unbelievable.”

She described the “spectacular” moment the two teenagers walked out onto the court to loud cheers from the crowd and that “everyone had loved both of these players.”

ROYAL CONGRATULATIONS

Emma Raducanu is set to receive an MBE from the Queen after her stunning victory at the US Open.

According to the Telegraph, the 18-year-old could even receive an OBE as well as an MBE.

The Queen congratulated Raducanu via social media last night, and is now set to reward her with an honour of the British Empire.

In an official royal telegram, she wrote: “I send my congratulations to you on your success in winning the United States Open Tennis Championships.

"It is a remarkable achievement at such a young age, and is testament to your hard work and dedication.

“I have no doubt your outstanding performance, and that of your opponent, Leylah Fernandez, will inspire the next generation of tennis players. I send my warmest good wishes to you and your many supporters.”

PRIZE MONEY

Emma Raducanu scooped a WHOPPING £1.8million for winning the US Open final last night.

Not bad for 18-years-old!

SUPERSTAR

In case you forgot, Emma Raducanu won the US Open WITHOUT dropping a set.

And she was a qualifier!

She had to progress through three rounds of qualifying before even reaching the first round of the draw.

It means in total her US Open campaign was ten games long, and incredibly she won every single set she played.

That's TWENTY straight sets!

CAN-U BELIEVE IT?

Emma Raducanu poses next to her name on the honours board at Arthur Ashe.

She joins a list that includes some all-time tennis greats who have lifted the US Open trophy.

NEXT UP

How long will it be before fans get to see Emma Raducanu in action again?

Well the answer is not long at all.

She's scheduled to appear in qualifying for the WTA event in Chicago at the end of the month.

WATCHING FROM AFAR

Emma Raducanu has said she would 'have loved' to have parents Ian and Renee watching her inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium last night.

Covid-19 travel restrictions prevented her family from flying to New York from the UK to watch her play.

She said: "I speak to my parents, we do not really talk so much about tennis but they just really want to know how I am in these moments and, you know, to not have them here with me, I would have loved them to be here and we can all celebrate together or they could be with me and experience the same things but you know, they are watching from home very proud. 

";My dad said to me ‘you are even better than your dad thought’ so that was reassuring.

"My dad is definitely very tough to please but I managed to today."

ROAD TO GLORY

Here’s a reminder of how Emma Raducanu winning run at the US Open, becoming the first British woman to win a major singles title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon 1977.

• Qualifier – 6-1, 6-2 vs Bibiane Schoofs
• Qualifier – 6-3, 7-5 vs Mariam Bolkvadze
• Qualifier – 6-1, 6-4 vs Mayar Sherif
• First Round – 6-2, 6-3 vs Stefanie Voegele
• Second Round – 6-2, 6-4 vs Zhang Shuai
• Third Round – 6-0, 6-1 vs Sara Sorribes Tormo
• Fourth Round – 6-2, 6-1 vs Shelby Rogers
• Quarter-Final – 6-3, 6-4 vs Belinda Bencic
• Semi-Final – 6-1, 6-4 vs Maria Sakkari
• Final – 6-4, 6-3 vs Leylah Fernandez

TAKING A MOMENT

Emma Raducanu falls to the the floor after her ace secured a maiden Grand Slam title.

An unreturnable serve on championship point meant she beat Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3.

FOLLOWER FRENZY

Emma Raducanu has gained over HALF-A-MILLION followers on Instagram in the last 24 hours.

The 18-year-old now boasts a whopping 1.2million fans on the social media site.

That's after she became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam since Virginia Wade triumphed at Wimbledon in 1977.

RAD MESSAGE

Emma Raducanu is multi-talented to say the least.

She sent a message in fluent Mandarin to her supporters in China, with the 18-year-old's mother hailing from the country.

Listen to the video here.

FREE SWING

Emma Raducanu has insisted she doesn't feel pressure to kick on after winning an historic US Open title.

The 18-year-old revealed: “I don’t feel absolutely any pressure.”

“I’m still only 18 years old. I’m just having a free swing at anything that comes my way.

“That’s how I faced every match here in the States. It got me this trophy, so I don’t think I should change anything.”

SHE'S RAD

Daniel Ricciardo won the Italian Grand Prix despite staying up way past his bedtime to cheer on Emma Raducanu.

Raducanu, who is an F1 nut and counts Ricciardo as one of the 25 people she follows on Twitter, was at this year's British GP.

She said at Silverstone: "When I have time, I love to watch Formula One and I’ve started to follow it week-by-week.

"I watched the British Grand Prix and Daniel Ricciardo is my favorite driver.”

And the Aussie was quick to praise her success after claiming his first F1 victory since 2016 in a shock McLaren one-two at Monza.

He said: "I probably shouldn't say this, but I watched it. I went past my bedtime last night."

NAV THAT

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has hit out at John McEnroe after the American criticised Emma Raducanu from withdrawing from Wimbledon in July due to breathing difficulties.

Navratilova told the Andre Marr show: "She has very much silenced those critics and I said that at the time 'STFU' because you don't know what you're talking about. 

"She is a star in the making, this is just a hiccup. Little did I know what a small hiccup it really was in the grand scheme of things here.

"I don't think those people will be talking anything about her mental fitness ever again."

EMMA NICKS FOOTBALL CHANT

It’s finally coming home… declared Emma Raducanu as she prepares to bring the US Open trophy back to Britain, writes THOMAS BLOW.

The British teenager, 18, celebrated her incredible achievement with a football reference after a summer of British sporting triumphs.

Raducanu pulled off a 6-4, 6-3 win against Leylah Fernandez to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam Singles title since 1977.

And to celebrate the win, she tweeted: “We are taking her HOMEEE.”

The tweet is a reference to English football’s famous ‘It’s Coming Home’ chant, which echoes around stadiums when the national team succeeds.

The chant comes form the famous tune ‘Three Lions’ by the Lightning Seeds, David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, recorded ahead of Euro ’96.

‘It’s Coming Home’ was sung by millions earlier this summer as England reached the Euro 2020 final, suffering an agonising defeat to Italy.

But Raducanu, a huge football fan, has gone one better than the lads by winning at Flushing meadows to become the UK’s sporting star for 2021.

EMMA: NOW I'M GONNA SWITCH OFF

Emma Raducanu will “switch off” and enjoy the moment as she beamed: “Right now I’ve absolutely no care in the world. I’m just loving life.”

The new US Open queen, 18, is the first qualifier to land a Grand Slam triumph and Britain’s only female winner in such a tournament since Virginia Wade’s 1977 Wimbledon success.

And she is determined to relax and drink in one of sport’s most astonishing achievements.

She said: “I’m just really trying to embrace the moment and take it all in.

“I think it’s definitely the time to switch off from any future thoughts or from any plays or from any schedule. I’ve got absolutely no clue!”

EMMA TELLS CHINESE FANS 'I LOVE YOU!' IN MANDARIN

Emma Raducanu used Mandarin to thank her Chinese fans for their support on the way to her US Open victory.

The Canadian-born Brit topped off the message by telling them "I love you!"

The 18-year-old's mum Renee is Chinese and her dad Romanian'

HOW EMMA WIN RANKS IN TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

SunSport’s Cliff Hayes has compiled a top ten of Britain’s greatest sporting successes – with Emma Raducanu’s US Open win putting her up there with Botham’s Ashes and Geoff Hurst’s World Cup-winning hat-trick.

Here’s the full list HERE.

EMMA TROLLED FOR F1 TASTES

Incoming Mercedes driver George Russell has been bantering over Emma Raducanu's ALLEGED preference for McLaren ace Daniel Ricciardo - who has just won a dramatic Italian GP..

Mew US Open winner Raducanu is a big F1 and football fan.

AndRussell joked it was a "little disappointing - maybe we'll have to sway her to Lando (Norris).."

Aussie Ricciardo is the only non-Brit amongst Raducanu and the drivers mentioned.

And Britain's seven-time world F1 champ Lewis Hamilton led the sport's congratulations to Raducanu for her historic victory at Flushing Meadows.

He posted: "Wow dreams do come true. Well done @emmaraducanu first of many."

THE HAND OF POD

Emma Raducanu joked her original US Open goal was to win enough money to replace her lost AIRPODS.

And the British teenager, 18, will definitely be able to afford the £109 gadget after taking home £1.8MILLION for winning the tournament.

As quoted by the Daily Mail, Raducanu said: "There's a running joke in my team because before my first-round qualifying match I lost my Airpods.

"I was basically running around the changing rooms three minutes before my call to go on trying to find it.

"But I lost it and I was thinking to myself, 'You know what, if you win this match you can by yourself a pair of Airpods.'

"And that's become the running joke!"

Raducanu secured her maiden US Open title and TENTH win of the tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Leylah Fernandez.

She is the first qualifier - male of female - to win a Grand Slam Singles title and the tenth youngest major winner in the history of the game.

RADU-COOL MEETING WITH VIRGINIA

Rarely has a meeting of tennis heroes past and present been more fitting than Emma Raducanu's hug with Virginia Wade.

Raducanu is the first British women to achieve what three-time Grand Slam winner Wade, now 76, did decades earlier.

The 18-year-old is Britain's first female Slam victor since Wimbledon 1977 and the only one at Flushing Meadows since 1968.

Raducanu is just starting out on what some are predicting could be the greatest ever tennis career for a British female.

And she needs two more Slams to equal Wade's career total!