Go Emma - Or Gone Emma?

[Ken4155]

I'll begin by saying i would love to see Emma Raducanu go all the way and win this tournament. She is now at the QF stage and is attempting to emulate just 2 women who have done just that from being out of the top 100. Those two? Billie Jean King and Kim Clijsters. If she can emulate just a fraction of what those two achieved, she has a very, very bright future ahead. So far she has been brilliant, winning all her previous games in straight sets. She will no doubt approach this match with all the exuberance of her youth and with her confidence sky-high.
However, her opponent Belinda Bencic is fresh from winning the Gold at the Tokyo Olympics and has a similar profile to Emma in that she more or less burst onto the scene when becoming the youngest QF qualifier since Martina Hingis (1997) at this very tournament in 2014. She has had her serve broken just 3 times throughout the entire tournament and has the highest % of first serve points won (82%). This is her 3rd QF appearance in this tournament; she lost in her first but got through to the SF in her 2nd.
Raducanu can take encouragement from the fact that Bencic has lost a couple of games to players outside the top 100 this season. Though i do think think this is one game too far for the Brit, i hope she can at least take it to the wire.

£5 win Belinda Bencic 2-1 @ 10/3

[Canary42]

You had me at "i would love to see Emma Raducanu go all the way and win this tournament." ;-)

[Ken4155]

I don't mind losing a few quid, Canary, if it means a win on American soil for a Brit :-) I honestly thought Rogers would have beaten her in the last round, but our lass proved me woefully wrong.
I was, however, a little dismayed to find that she has done a photoshoot and appears on the cover of next month's UK Vogue. Granted, Emma is a very beautiful girl, but i would rather she concentrate on her tennis at this early stage of her career.

[-SharonA-]

I am looking forward to seeing this match. Emma is brilliant and I hope she is not a five minute wonder.

[Mozz71]

Sharon, where are you watching it?

[Mozz71]

Don't worry- it's on Amazon Prime. Should've looked before asking!

[Ken4155]

I think she'll be okay, Sharon, as long as she doesn't go down the Kournikova route.

[Ken4155]

Go Emma :-) She held herself together much better than her opponent.

[Mozz71]

No disrespect Ken, but really pleased to see you lose that bet. Could you bet against her in the semi too please? ;-)

[Arrods]

She’s won!

[Ken4155]

Mozz, if the stats are not in her favour - and there's the biggy of a qualifier never having won it - i most likely will. As i said earlier though, it would be worth losing another tenner to see her win the tournament. I'll just put it down to 'entrance fee' :-)) Cheap as chips.

[DTCwordfan]

Gather she has done it - well done, young lady....one more match and the the final. Who is she likely to be playing, the other youngster perhaps?

[DTCwordfan]

what's the Korkernova route, Ken? Having lingerie designed to wear under a very short mini-tennis dress?..... 'Phew'

[DTCwordfan]

Boris won Wimbledon from the qualification rounds at her age, I believe. So it can be done....

[Ken4155]

Anything's possible, DTC. She faces the winner of the match between Karolina Pliskova (29 y.o.) and Marria Sakkari )26 y.o.) on Friday.

[Ken4155]

Sakkari overcame Pliskova 2-0 and will face Raducanu.......................at 2 a.m. our time :-( Don't think i'm keen enough to stay up that late to watch it.

[Ken4155]

The trouble with trying to ascertain who has the better chance of going through, from a betting point of view, of course, is that Emma Raducanu is still such an unknown entity. So far she has done all that has been necessary, winning all her matches in straight sets and facing all the different challenges her various opponents have made with an experience beyond her years.
Tomorrow's opponent, Maria Sakkari, is no slouch, having appeared in 13 career semi finals. She is, however, a touch mentally deficient in that she has lost 11 of those semis. 2021 has been her best year, so perhaps she is adding a tad more resolve to her game.
Our own young prodigy isn't without mental issues if Wimbledon is anything to go by so this is a match in which anything can happen.
No surprise then that i'm splitting my bet;

£3.75 Sakkari to win 2-1 @ 10/3
£3.25 Raducanu to win 2-1 @ 4/1

Cue a straight sets win for either :-(

[-SharonA-]

Fernandez struggling.

[-SharonA-]

Fernandez fights back. Scores level.

[-SharonA-]

Fernandez takes first set. Great fight back!!!

[Mozz71]

Well, I think they've just closed betting on Sports Personality of the Year.

Breathtaking performance.