04:07 PM
The players are out on court
The sun is shining on Arthur Ashe court, one which Bencic hasn’t played on yet.
04:03 PM
It’s nearly time…
Who do you think will win? Can Raducanu continue her remarkable run and make the semis? We’re about to find out…
04:02 PM
Last bit of advice from Andy Murray
“Her attitude is fantastic, she works well and trains hard. I am sure she’ll continue on the right path, it’s very exciting for British tennis.”
03:52 PM
Andy Murray speaks…
On what he’s made of Raducanu’s run…
“I think what [Raducanu’s] done so far is incredible the ease with which she’s won has been surprising for everyone.”
On today’s opponent…
“Bencic is playing well and with confidence after the Olympics. But her results up until the Olympics they have not been that impressive especially in the Slams.”
On the possible outcome…
“It’s a tough match but Bencic is beatable.”
03:52 PM
Andy Murray speaks…
On what he’s made of Raducanu’s run…
“I think what [Raducanu’s] done so far is incredible the ease with which she’s won has been surprising for everyone.”
On today’s opponent…
“Bencic is playing well and with conduce after the Olympics. But her results up until the Olympics they have not been that impressive especially in the Slams.”
On the possible outcome…
“It’s a tough match but Bencic is beatable.”
03:47 PM
Tim Henman backing Raducanu…
Our US correspondent, Jamie Johnson, has this update:
Tim Henman believes that Emma Raducanu stands a real chance of winning if she can keep the scores close at the beginning of her match.
The former British number one was courtside as the 18-year-old warmed up this morning and told the Telegraph: “She’s the underdog no doubt. Bencic is Olympic champion and has a lot of great results, but it is an opportunity and she’s playing very very well.
“We have seen what some of these 18-year-olds have done in this tournament and there is a lot of pressure on Bencic.
“I think if Emma can keep it close early on then she’s definitely got a good chance.”
Raducanu had an early wobble in her last match on this court against Shelby Rogers, being broken in her first service game and saving two break points to avoid going 3-0 down.
But she channeled the crowd’s energy and support, turning the shaky start into a remarkably comfortable 6-2, 6-1 victory.
03:40 PM
Raducanu speaks to Amazon Prime Sport
On her run…
“I am in my third week of a tournament which is unheard of for me.”
On whether she does a lot of pre-match planning…
“Honestly I have been doing less and less – they don’t have weaknesses here so you just have to play your game really well.”
On today’s opponent Belinda Bencic…
“She’s going to make you run and get the ball past you. I need to try dictate the game and play well to beat her.”
03:32 PM
‘She’s the real deal’
‘For sure she’s the real deal’.
That’s none other than Billie Jean King talking about Emma Raducanu.
“We’ve got give her time and space, sh’e still in the development stage, [but] there’s no reason she cannot win here.”
03:28 PM
The moment Raducanu made it to the quarters
03:24 PM
What a run in New York
Maths isn’t my strongest suit but I make it that from qualifying onwards Raducanu has lost just 31 games in seven matches…
03:20 PM
Here are a few eye-catching stats
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She’s lost just four games over the past two matches against two top 50 players – remarkable.
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She the youngest British US Open quarter finalist in 62 years
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She’s only the third qualifier to reach the US Open last eight in the Open era
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She’s the youngest British Grand Slam quarter finalist since Sue Barker in 1975
03:13 PM
So how does an 18 year old…
…take the tennis world by storm in barely three months? I’m sure many of you are wanting to know the secrets behind Raducanu’s rapid rise, and, as luck would have it, Boris Starling has written this great piece revealing how the young Briton has made a huge name for herself on the way to today’s US Open quarter-final.
READ: The behind-the-scenes secrets that set Emma Raducanu on the road to tennis superstardom
02:56 PM
View from New York
Our US correspondent, Jamie Johnson, has been watching Raducanu in practice this morning and has this update:
Raducanu was all smiles as she warmed up in the Arthur Ashe stadium this morning, but did not exchange a single word with her opponent, Belinda Bencic, when the Olympic champion arrived on court.
The 18-year-old Briton and her coach Andrew Richardson focused on deep ground strokes from behind the baseline for most of her half hour session.
Raducanu’s superb ball control saw her only hit the net twice during the entire time she was on court, and it was her, rather than her coach, who appeared to be deciding what shots and scenarios she wanted to practice.
Ten minutes before the session ended, Bencic arrived on court with her boyfriend and fitness coach Martin Hromkovic.
Bencic kept a watchful eye over Raducanu, but the 18-year-old was not flustered.
As the clock hit 10am and Raducanu’s session ended Bencic was already stood on the tramlines, jumping up and down like an eager substitute.
In the stands, Tim Henman told the Telegraph that these were not mind games, but in any case, Raducanu grabbed a water bottle, sat down and started watching her opponent while laughing away with members of her team.
She departed the near-empty court knowing that when she steps back out at 12pm (5pm UK) she will have more than 20,000 people cheering her on.
02:45 PM
A star well and truly on the rise
It’s remarkable to think that at the end of 2018, a 15-year-old Raducanu stood at a world ranking of 692.
By the end of the following year, she had climbed to 503 and was ranked 343 in the world at the end of 2020.
Following her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon, she leapt to 179 and currently stands at 150. Her exploits in New York have guaranteed she will rise to at least 74 when the rankings are next updated.
Incredibly, victory over Bencic today could see her overtake Johanna Konta and Heather Watson to become British No 1. And to think a little under three months, Raducanu’s name was not widely known outside of the National Tennis Centre.
02:36 PM
Raducanu: I was a shy little girl
Raducanu’s affable and articulate disposition have been widely praised since the teenager’s arrival on the tennis scene, but it’s a long way from the ‘shy girl’ she was growing up.
In an interview with Vogue magazine, the 18-year-old opened up on how the sport has changed her.
“I was a very shy little girl who didn’t talk much at all,” she said. “And through playing sport, and having to be bold on the court and fearless and fight, it’s given me inner strength. If you have that then you can really achieve whatever you want.”
02:29 PM
Today’s opponent, a cautionary tale
By Simon Briggs
Belinda Bencic should be able to guess how Emma Raducanu might feel, going into Wednesday’s US Open quarter-final. She stood in a very similar position seven years ago.
In 2014, a 16-year-old Bencic came through qualifying at the Australian Open. Kimiko Date Krumm, the experienced Japanese player, succumbed to her in the first round proper and grumbled: “She didn’t look like a high-school girl.”
Later that season, Bencic – having turned 17 – reached the quarter-finals of the US Open. But it is only now that she has fulfilled her potential with a first significant title. Not a major yet, but the Olympic gold medal from Tokyo’s singles event.
“I think maybe the success I had very early made people think now it had to go very easy,” Bencic said. “It’s not like that. Everyone has their own time. Some people do it earlier, some people later, some people never, some people always. The most important [thing] is to be happy with yourself.”
Bencic’s story offers a cautionary tale for those who assume that Raducanu is on an irresistible upward trajectory. In her late teens, Bencic was held back by a series of chronic injuries. First she developed wrist trouble, of the alarming kind that effectively killed off Laura Robson’s career, and then a stress fracture of the foot. Once she had fully recuperated, she was too good not to surge back to form.
Bencic can belt the ball with the best of them, but she also has a nice line in touch shots and an unusual aptitude for disguise. If anything, her main weakness has been temperamental – a tendency to flake out under intense pressure.
Will Bencic be able to keep her head together against Raducanu? That is surely the key to the outcome. As long as she feels safe and comfortable, her experience should carry her through. But she is 24 now, and it is disconcerting to come up against an 18-year-old you have never played before.
Here is Raducanu’s greatest weapon: not her serve, nor her forehand, but her sense of unfamiliarity. Thus far, each of her main-draw opponents has quailed in the face of her uncanny poise. Not one of them has put up a fight. Raducanu is surfing a wave of novelty.