I Was a Teenage Upsetter, Part 3

I've been marvelling out loud at the teenagers making headlines at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, but until now I have neglected to mention Emma Raducanu (pictured) from England. Well, there's no way to overlook that 18-year-old any further. She's in the semifinals. Yesterday she sent the shocked and frustrated Olympic Gold Medalist, Belinda Bencic, back to Switzerland.

Raducanu, who had never played against a Top 20 player before, will face Maria Sakkari, the ultra-buff power hitter from Greece, today. Meanwhile, in the other bracket, yes, Leyla Fernandez of Canada, who turned 19 on Monday, is also still in it. She upended the Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina Tuesday. Fernandez's semifinal opponent today will be the blood-curdling screamer Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus.

Fernandez had only one day to hold the distinction of being the youngest semifinalist in U.S. Open history. And it's the first time ever that two semifinalists in the same Grand Slam event have been teenagers. It could be an all-teenage women's final.

Over on the men's side, Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz lost in the quarterfinals. He retired in the second set with a leg injury. But the semifinalists who got through include Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, who still looks like a teenager at age 21, so there's that. The other three men left are whom you'd expect: Daniil Medvedev (25), Sascha Zverev (24), and Snidely Whiplash (34). It's Medvedev vs. FAA, and Zverev vs. You-Know-Who, tomorrow.

Everybody still in it wins at least $625,000. Make the finals, you wind up with $1.25 million. Win the championship, $2.5 million. All figures before taxes.