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Emma Raducanu is one match away from winning the US Open after making history as the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final.

Raducanu, 18, earned a place in the record books by defeating 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 in straight sets during a stunning semi-final on Thursday night.

Now the British tennis sensation, ranked 150th in the world, will face Canadian rival, Leylah Fernandez, 19, in the fight for the title at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.

Emma Raducanu of Great Britain hits a forehand against Maria Sakkari of Greece (not pictured)on day eleven of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
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Raducanu hits a forehand on day 11 of the 2021 U.S. Open

It will be the first major final between two teens since the 1999 US Open, which saw Serena Williams, 17, thrash 18-year-old Martina Hingis.

Here’s 10 reasons why Raducanu can claim victory in tonight’s match.

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The Duchess of Cambridge has wished the teenage British tennis ace the ‘best of luck’ ahead of the US Open final

She hasn’t dropped a single set

Raducanu became the first player this century to make the second week of her first two Grand Slam main draw appearances.

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Over nine matches, including three qualifying games, to reach the main draw, Raducanu has yet to concede a single set at Flushing Meadows.

Meanwhile, Fernandez has been forced to play three sets in her last four matches.

After her semi-final win Fernandez said: "There's no limit to what I can do"
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Both Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu have never reached a Grand Slam final before

No pressure

Both Raducanu and Fernandez are unseeded at the US Open, and appear unflustered by better-known and more successful challengers.

But when asked about expectation to win the final, Raducanu joked: “I’m a qualifier so there’s no pressure on me!”

Emma Raducanu of Great Britain celebrates after her match against Maria Sakkari of Greece (not pictured) on day eleven of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
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Emma Raducanu joked: “I’m a qualifier so there’s no pressure on me!” ahead of the US Open final.

“Fearless” youth

Raducanu is the youngest Slam finalist since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon, aged 17, in 2004.

Sakkari, 26, said of both US Open finalists: “They are both young. They play fearless.

“They have nothing to lose playing against us.”

And Raducanu agrees: “Being young, there is an element of you do play completely free.”

Evenly matched

Neither has reached a Grand Slam final, meaning it will be an equally new experience for both.

Raducanu made it to the fourth round in Wimbledon, her only previous major tournament, before pulling out in the second set due to breathing problems.

Fernandez’s best past performance at a Slam was reaching the third round at Roland Garros last year.

Fernandez celebrates after her match against Aryna Sabalenka
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Fernandez’s best performance was reaching the third round of Roland Garros last year

Previous victory

Both women first met when they were playing in under-12 tournaments – before clashing in the Wimbledon junior tournament’s second round in 2018.

Raducanu won three years ago – with fans believing she can do the same again when they share a court for the first time in a tour-level match, albeit with much more at stake.

Stamina

Raducanu has already proved she is fresher than Fernandez.

Despite playing nine games compared to her opponent’s six, the Brit has spent less time on court – beating all of her competitors in less time than the Canadian’s shortest win, one hour and 45 minutes, over Croatian Ana Konjuh in the opening round.

Emma Raducanu of Great Britain (L) shakes hands with Maria Sakkari of Greece (R) after their match on day eleven of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
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Raducanu shakes hands with Sakkari after their match

Raducanu obliterated Sakkari, a highly experienced rival, in 84 minutes in what has been hailed a “gladiatorial” performance.

Star quality

Virginia Wade, the last British woman to reach this stage of the US Open 53 years ago, is in no doubt of Raducanu’s talent.

“She is a star, no question,” Wade told Sky News.

“I think that she’s one of the people who looks good young and will always be one of the top contenders.”

Pride of Britain

Raducanu, the youngest British major finalist in 62 years, can count on the nation’s support, with Kate Middleton, Boris Johnson, Liam Gallagher and Marcus Rashford congratulating the teen on her semi-final win.

The Duchess of Cambridge praised Raducanu’s “incredible achievement”, tweeting: “We will all be rooting for you.”

Emma Raducanu. Pic: Scott Trindle
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Emma Raducanu in her debut in British Vogue magazine Pic: Scott Trindle

Self-belief

Raducanu told Sky News how she was “feeling good” when she arrived for a practice session ahead of the US Open final on Friday.

But despite her extraordinary achievements, Raducanu remains extremely humble.

Speaking on court after her win, she said: “I knew I had some sort of level inside of me that was similar to these girls, but I didn’t know if I was able to maintain it over a set or over two sets.

“To be able to do it and play the best players in the world and beat them, I honestly can’t believe it.”

And she has credited her “amazing” team in New York for her incredible success.

Emma Raducanu. Pic: Scott Trindle
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The teen’s success on the court has earned her a spread in Vogue magazine. Pic: Scott Trindle

Fame and fortune

Before reaching the US Open, Raducanu’s career winnings totalled around £219,591.

But her place in the final has guaranteed her a runners up prize of at least £900,000 – while winning the title would earn her £1.8m.

Now she is on course to eclipse the popularity of many fellow sports stars, with some tipping her to be as “famous and well-known as Rihanna” – while her success has already earned her a feature in British Vogue.

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Easter travel warning with ’14 million’ holiday road journeys, record numbers at airports and major rail works planned

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Easter travel warning with '14 million' holiday road journeys, record numbers at airports and major rail works planned

Britons have been warned of long delays on their Easter getaways with more than 14 million journeys expected on the roads, airports prepared for a record number of passengers, and engineering works on key rail services.

The RAC warned that journeys on popular routes could take twice as long as usual, as the bank holiday weekend leads into a two-week holiday for many schools.

Trains are also set to be stopped as Network Rail carries out engineering works on the West Coast Main Line – which stretches from the capital to Scotland – between London Euston and Milton Keynes.

And at least three major airports have said that the coming days will be their busiest ever Easter weekend.

Bristol, Newcastle and Edinburgh have told The Independent they predict a record number of passengers from Good Friday to Easter Monday, with routes to Geneva tipped to be extremely busy.

Around two million Britons are expected to fly away over the holiday weekend, with Bristol predicting 30,000 holiday-goers on Easter Sunday alone.

Airports will stay busy over the school holidays, with Luton expecting to see around 38 passengers a minute on 5 April.

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On Sunday 7 April, Gatwick and Southampton are set to see their busiest days.

File pic: PA
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Around two million Britons are expected to fly away over the holiday weekend. File pic: PA

No ‘good time’ for rail works

The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Good Friday and Easter Monday, with disruption to rail services also expected in Glasgow and Huddersfield.

Laurence Bowman, Network Rail’s network strategy director, said earlier this week that there is “never a good time to do the work we need to do”, but explained that a lower number of commuters over the bank holiday weekend gives them “the opportunity to do major work we couldn’t do in a normal weekend”.

“We’ve got 493 different pieces of work taking place this Easter, most happening overnight,” he added, “including laying over 8,000 metres of new rail and putting down over 40,000 tonnes of new ballast to support the tracks.”

‘Carmageddon’

RAC spokesperson Alice Simpson warned it “could be carmageddon” over Easter and said heavy traffic and “lengthy queues can be expected along routes to the usual hotspots”.

Inrix transportation analyst Bob Pishue also said that “drivers should be prepared for longer journeys than normal throughout the entire weekend”.

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File pic: PA
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The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Good Friday and Easter Monday. File pic: PA

Worst day for driving

A survey commissioned by the RAC and Inrix found that 2.6 million journeys are planned on Good Friday, with around 2.3 million trips expected for both Easter Saturday and Sunday.

Another two million trips are expected on Thursday and Easter Monday, and a further 3.3 million journeys are due with no clear starting date, making for a total of around 14.5 million journeys.

Inrix predicted that the worst of the traffic is expected between 2pm and 7pm on Thursday when holiday journeys mix with regular commutes.

It added that the busiest route is set to be the western section of the M25 between the M23 for Gatwick and the M1 for Hertfordshire where journeys from 4pm are tipped to take more than two hours, more than twice as long as usual.

The M5 southbound between Bristol and Taunton, and the M3 between the M25 and the south coast are also likely to be congested, according to Inrix, with estimated journey times more than double what they normally are.

The survey, from research company Find Out Now, polled 2,136 UK adults.

File pic
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The RAC and Inrix say around 2.3 million trips expected for both Easter Saturday and Sunday. File pic: PA

A yellow weather warning for strong winds is also in effect on Thursday, with unsettled conditions from Storm Nelson likely to further disrupt travel.

The Met Office said the alert applies from 7am until 6pm on Thursday and extends in a band from locations such as St Ives and Penzance in the South West across to Brighton.

Sky News weather producer Christopher England also said: “It’ll stay mostly unsettled into next week, with further heavy showers or longer spells of rain, and 70mph gusts near Channel coasts, thanks to the Spanish-named Storm Nelson.”

More delays in Dover

Meanwhile, Britons taking ferries should be able to embark without much issue, with the exception of the Port of Dover where French border staff check passports before leaving the UK.

In a statement, the port pointed to France’s heightened terror alert after the attack in Moscow, saying: “These measures may increase border processing times at the port.

“Please be mindful of this when travelling to the port and check with your ferry operator for arrival times.”

Last year saw severe delays and long queues at the port with wait times stretching up to two hours.

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From 2023: ‘Severe’ delays for Easter travel

Around 20,000 cars are expected to travel through Dover’s port between Thursday and Easter. A Coach Processing Facility has been set up in the Western Docks for Thursday and Saturday in a bid to ease travel.

Coach passengers and motorists will be processed away from the main port, and then moved to the Eastern Port for a quick passport check, before embarking on their ferry journey.

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Scotland’s new hate crime law could be used to ‘settle scores’, say critics

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Scotland's new hate crime law could be used to 'settle scores', say critics

There are fears innocent people could end up on police databases with controversial new hate crime laws in Scotland being weaponised to “settle scores”.

Legislation is being introduced on 1 April criminalising threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred based on certain characteristics including age, disability, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.

The rules will apply in people’s private homes and online.

Women’s groups, which have been vocal in the transgender debate in Scotland, fear social media posts could be used to target opponents.

Susan Smith, director at the For Women Scotland campaign group, said: “It’s a mess.

“Much of this is very vague as stirring up offences seems to be based on someone’s perception that someone is being hateful towards them, and they can make a complaint and the police are saying they will investigate everything.”

“There will be a lot of malicious reports,” added Ms Smith.

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“We know that there are people out there who have lists of people they are looking to target. They are seeing this as an opportunity to settle scores and make political points.”

Susan Smith, director at the For Women Scotland campaign group,
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Susan Smith says people will use the new law maliciously

JK Rowling and Elon Musk have publicly criticised the change, suggesting it erodes free speech.

Those who support the law insist it will make Scotland more tolerant.

Rebecca Crowther, chief executive of Equality Network in Scotland, told Sky News: “This legislation is not going to catch people online saying things that I might disagree with, that you might disagree with, things that might upset me, things that might upset others in the community.

“Freedom of expression is really important, and there’s a defence for that within the legislation.

“People are free to say what they like, even if it might cause offence or it might cause shock or disturb people, that’s just what we live with when we live with the freedom of speech.

“What it does legislate against is when that freedom of speech strays into something that is abusive, that could cause fear and alarm, and that also incites hatred or incites people to act on that hatred.”

Dr Rebecca Crowther
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Dr Crowther insists the law won’t degrade free speech

Police Scotland, the second largest force in the UK, has committed to investigating every single hate complaint it receives.

It comes amid a backdrop of major changes to policing that mean some minor crimes will no longer be investigated due to budget cuts.

‘Disaster waiting to happen’

Lanarkshire shopkeeper Abdul Majid says he has lost thousands of pounds a year in petty shoplifting that the authorities have not fully investigated.

He reckons the cumulative impact on his business is £10,000 a year and is “frustrated” at the contrast in policing priorities as the new hate crime regime begins.

Lanarkshire shopkeeper Abdul Majid
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Abdul Majid has lost thousands to shoplifters and says all crime should be investigated

He describes taking matters in to his own hands: “Because of the lack of prosecution, we have made a rogues’ gallery in the shop.

“We have the date and time of the shoplift and a bit of background about what they’ve taken and what they look like.

“All crime in my opinion should be investigated, whether it be hate crime or retail crime.”

Read more:
First minister: ‘Disinformation’ being spread about hate crime law

Those representing thousands of rank-and-file police officers say the two-hour online training course provided in preparation for enforcement is not good enough.

David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, described it as a disaster waiting to happen.

He said: “I have real concerns that mistakes could be made. Officers are drained. We are not getting any extra resources to deal with this.

“Officers on night shift have a mandatory two-hour online training.”

The Hate Monster. Pic: Police Scotland
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The ‘Hate Monster’ being used to advertise the law change. Pic: Police Scotland

Police Scotland refused to be questioned by Sky News on camera about the new law.

A statement from a spokesman said: “Our training package has been developed in close consultation with diversity staff associations to ensure all protected characteristics under the new Act are clearly represented and articulated, and that officers are best prepared when they respond to hate crimes and incidents.

“In addition to the training package, an extensive programme of workshops is taking place to allow officers to gain more understanding and ask any questions they may have.”

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This family’s terrifying journey across the Channel wasn’t their first choice – it was their last hope

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This family's terrifying journey across the Channel wasn't their first choice - it was their last hope

In a hostel in northern France, the atmosphere was tense.

A father and his family were waiting for a call, a sign sea conditions were right and it is finally time to go.

After fleeing from Kurdistan, they’ve paid around €8000 (£6,850) to cross the Channel on a dinghy provided by smugglers who value money over life.

“We don’t have any other option except this dinghy. The surveillance for the trucks [crossing the Channel] is very strong and that is why we have to take this journey. We will either die or succeed,” Mohammed said ahead of the journey.

The family now await to hear their fate in the UK
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The family now await to hear their fate in the UK

To tell their story safely, all the family’s names have been changed.

The UK wasn’t their destination of choice; for years Germany was their home but then, after a failed asylum bid and threatened with deportation last month, they ran.

If they stayed, Mohammed says they would have been sent back home where he fears he could be killed.

But after years of making friends and plans, overnight his family’s lives changed.

His teenage daughter Sara says when she was told they were leaving at first she didn’t believe it.

“I was like, no, this is going to be a bad joke,” she explains, “Then the day we left, I looked at my friends… they didn’t know that I was leaving and we will never see each other again.”

Despite promises by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “stop the boats”, a record numbers of migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year.

Last week the family was among them, cramming into a rickety vessel with around 60 others.

“It was a difficult and dangerous journey that no one was expecting to survive. We were all thinking that our lives would end in a matter of seconds,” Mohammed says.

The boat left a French beach near Dunkirk at 10pm.

After around an hour into the journey they ran out of fuel and then drifted for hours.

The conditions meant children were screaming and crying.

Many onboard were being sick and everyone was soaked with freezing water.

When the French coastguard arrived, 25 people asked to be rescued but the other 36 refused, determined to keep pushing ahead.

Desperate to reach UK waters, they paddled with their hands and then used the dregs of the fuel to give them one last boost until they were picked up by the UK coastguard.

Read more:
Children among migrants rescued in Channel
More than 500 migrants cross Channel in one day

Migrants boat in The Channel
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A migrant boat seen crossing the Channel earlier this year

After hours of being “scared to die”, Sara said the relief was overwhelming.

They’re now waiting to hear their fate in temporary accommodation in the UK after applying for asylum.

Like many other asylum seekers I’ve spoken to, fresh threats of deportation or being sent to Rwanda weren’t a deterrent.

“What will stop people coming on that route?” I ask Mohammed.

“You can’t stop it. This is smuggling and it will continue,” he replies.

The family hopes they can stay but it isn’t guaranteed. While the UK wasn’t their first choice, they say it’s their last hope.

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