Emma Raducanu is into the semi-final of the US Open in her debut appearance at Flushing Meadows as she continues to defy the odds.
The world No.150 defeated Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4 in a thrilling quarter-final on Wednesday to become the first qualifier in US Open history to reach this stage.
Karolina Pliskova or Maria Sakkari await the 18-year-old in the semi-finals with the real prospect of a place in Saturday’s final on the horizon.
Asked after her quarter-final win if she’s already keeping one eye on a final appearance, Raducanu refused to get ahead of herself.
‘I mean, let’s say I have a hunger to win every single match I play, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself at all, because I just like to take it one day at a time,’ she said.
‘If I take care of what I can control, then that’s going to give me the best chance.
‘Until now, I think it’s worked very well for me not getting ahead of myself, just focusing on one point at a time.
‘It’s got me to this stage, and I’m not going to change anything.’
So just when will we be able to watch Raducanu’s fairytale story continue?
When is Emma Raducanu’s US Open semi-final?
Czech fourth seed Pliskova or Greek 17th seed Sakkari will battle it out in Thursday’s semi, meaning Raducanu will have more time to recover from her quarter-final than her opponent.
Raducanu’s semi-final will be the second of the women’s singles semi-finals and will be played about 9pm local time in New York (2am BST, Friday).
It means British fans will have to set their alarms or stay up late to cheer on the teenager.
Due to coronavirus travel restrictions, Raducanu’s parents have been unable to travel to the States to support her and sadly there’s no chance they’ll be able to fly out for the biggest game of her career.
Asked if her parents were able to make the trip, she said: ‘Yeah, it’s not possible, because you need a waiver and it takes a couple weeks for approval.
‘It’s too late, and, yeah, they won’t be able to get one.’
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