Teen scene

Aug 18, 2022
Carlos Alcaraz cheering on court

Three 19-year-olds remain in the draws and they are making an impact on the tournament. Emma Raducanu is the youngest woman to reach the Round of 16 here since 2018, and tonight she is bidding to be the youngest to reach the quarterfinals in 12 years. Raducanu has already beaten two past champions and Grand Slam major winners this week – Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. In fact, between the two matches she won 17 straight games, defeating Williams 6-4, 6-0 and then picking up where she left off about 17 hours later to defeat Azarenka 6-0, 6-2.

Nineteen-year-olds Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton are the youngest men to reach the Round of 16 since 2018, and they are each seeking to be the first 19-year-old quarterfinalist here since 2019. This is the first Western & Southern Open with two teenage men in the Round of 16 since 2007 when 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro and 19-year-old Sam Querrey made it. If both Alcaraz and Shelton win tonight, it would put two teen men into the quarterfinals for the first time since since 1990 when 19-year-old Jim Courier and 18-year-old Michael Chang reached the final eight.

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