NEW YORK -- One. That's how many games Emma Raducanu lost in her third-round dominance against World No. 41 Sara Sorribes Tormo.
You read that right. The 18-year-old Brit routed Tormo 6-0, 6-1 enroute to her second ever Round of 16 in as many Grand Slam events. She did it first at Wimbledon -- in her first ever Grand Slam appearance -- and now she's done it again at the US Open.
It took her all of 70 minutes.
And she's done in every round so far, she made it look effortless. What's more: she is yet to lose a set in this tournament.
Tormo beat No. 22 seed Carolina Muchova in straight sets in the first round and was expected to be a great threat to Raducanu's journey at the US Open.
Raducanu ripped Tormo's serves with aggressive forehand crosscourt returns, stunning the Spaniard into inaction. Tormo never really figured out how to serve to Raducanu, her speed proving to be too much for Tormo. Before Tormo could really figure out how to break Raducanu or return her serves effectively, the match was over.
"She's been in great form. She's such a tricky opponent to play. I went out there with nothing to lose, and just knew that if I was going to win or have a shot of winning that I was going to have to dominate and hit the corners as many times as possible and not miss," Raducanu said.
Raducanu has had a magical run at the U.S. Open. She played three qualifying matches to make it to the main draw and ever since, she's stepped up her game, her quiet confidence and her double-handed backhand surprising her opponents. In the first round, she took on Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele, beating her in straight sets. Then came Zhang Shuai, who had beaten her in August in the US Open Series. But, this time around, Raducanu looked unperturbed, beating her comfortably in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
For a qualifier who made her Grand Slam debut earlier this year at Wimbledon, Raducanu looked has looked like a pro throughout this tournament. And she's quickly becoming a crowd favorite. Long lines formed outside court 17 as she broke Tormo early in the first set. And throughout the course of the match, fans yelled, "let's go, Emma," every time she broke Tormo's serve. A beaming Raducanu signed autographs for fans after and served some balls into the stands.
"There is definitely a lot more going on in New York than like at Wimbledon, for example. Like everything is just dead silent at Wimbledon," Raducanu added. "Their support helps me so much. I really enjoy playing, and I think that when I'm playing my best is when I'm having fun and smiling, that's when the best tennis comes out."
Raducanu becomes the third 18-year-old player in two days make their mark in the first week of the tournament. On Friday, Carlos Alvaraz handed No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas a shocking third-round defeat, beating him in five sets in a mammoth four-hour plus match. Later that same evening, Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez ousted the defending champion Naomi Osaka in front of a packed Arthur Ashe crowd.
"To have so many young players coming through is just really great for the game, because it just shows how strong this next generation is," she said. "I wanted to join them in the second week as well, so that was an extra bit of motivation."
Raducanu made news earlier this year when she made her WTA Tour main draw debut at the Nottingham Open. Since, she made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon, going from No. 338 in the world to 150.
Raducanu will face either Ash Barty or Shelby Rogers who are scheduled to meet on Arthur Ashe tonight.
"I don't really want to make any assumptions as to who is going to win, but, I'm ready to play whoever," Raducanu concluded.