Emma Raducanu has not reached a final on the WTA Tour since the 2021 US Open.
Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu has advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles competition at the Washington Open, defeating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
Following her previous upset victory over Ukrainian seventh seed Marta Kostyuk in the first round, the 22-year-old delivered a commanding performance to overcome former world number one Osaka 6-4, 6-2.
The 2021 US Open women’s singles champion is now set to face wildcard Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals, after the Greek player eliminated American second seed Emma Navarro.
Raducanu, who is poised to replace Katie Boulter as the British number one when the WTA rankings are updated on Monday, has also progressed to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles tournament.
She and her partner, Elena Rybakina, secured a victory over Giuliana Olmos and Aldila Sutjiadi with a score of 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, setting up a semi-final encounter with second seeds Shuai Zhang and Taylor Townsend.
In contrast, Britons Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans were eliminated in the round of 16 of the men’s singles competition.
British number two Norrie was defeated by 14th seed Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
After a closely contested first set that was decided by a tie-break, American Nakashima broke Norrie’s serve twice in the second set to secure his place in the quarter-finals.
Evans, the 2023 tournament champion, mounted a comeback from 5-3 down and saved a match point to force a tie-break in the second set against Corentin Moutet. However, the Frenchman ultimately prevailed in straight sets, winning 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
Cameron Norrie’s loss marked his first defeat to Brandon Nakashima since 2020.
Raducanu secured the first set in 38 minutes after capitalizing on her only break point opportunity in the fifth game.
She immediately broke Osaka’s serve at the start of the second set, and after saving a break point in the fourth game, she broke her serve for a second time to establish a 4-1 lead.
As Osaka served to stay in the match, Raducanu was unable to convert her first match point in the seventh game.
However, after missing a second match point and saving a break point, Raducanu secured the victory on her third attempt, winning the second set 6-2.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, she commented, “I anticipated a very challenging match.”
“Naomi has won four slams, held the world number one ranking, and won Masters titles. She is a formidable opponent, particularly on hard courts where she seems very comfortable.”
“I knew I would need to perform well and manage my own service games effectively, which I am very proud of achieving. I started to make some progress in her service game as I became more accustomed to it.”
“I am very pleased with how I managed the ball speed and conditions here in DC.”
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