Canadian sensation Fernandez continues remarkable run at U.S. Open

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Leylah Fernandez has now experienced so many surprising attacks in New York that they really can’t be called surprising anymore.

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The 19-year-old from Laval, Que., added another WTA top 10 player to the beaten list Tuesday afternoon, knocking out Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the US Open to continue her remarkable run at the US Open. National Tennis Center. .

Fernandez, who turned 19 on Monday, lost three sets (6-3, 3-6, 7-6) to beat the 26-year-old Ukrainian, who is ranked fifth in the world and is in the finals. top 10 every day. since May 2017. When Svitolina broke into the WTA top 10 for the first time, Fernandez was 13 years old.

Fernandez took the lead in the decisive third set before Svitolina came back, but the crucial tiebreaker was won by the Canadian boy, who took it 7-5 with all the composure and poise of a veterans have seen and done. all before, instead of one person, well, did not.

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Fernandez said on the pitch after her first Grand Slam quarterfinal win in her first appearance in a Slam quarterfinal. “Throughout the game, I was very nervous.”

Fernandez was pushed into a tiebreak after looking like she could take it easy the first time around, but she said she refocused when the game was in the balance.

“I just told myself to believe in myself and believe in my shots,” she said.

When it was all over, Fernandez fell to his knees, his head on the ground, almost in tears.

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The win, which came after consecutive wins over former US Open champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, sent Fernandez into the semi-finals in New York – it was an unprecedented culmination for a Canadian but for victory. Bianca Andreescu’s thrill to a second US Open title many years ago.

But while there are certainly some similarities between Andreescu and Fernandez’s New York runs – both Canadians played their first seasons at the top level of the WTA and both were teenagers – then this is one of the more noticeable points from the blue. Andreescu’s career got off to a rocket start in 2019, when she won at Indian Wells and Toronto and was almost undefeated that season as she wasn’t absent through injury.

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Fernandez, meanwhile, is progressing through a good rookie season, with a win at a smaller event in Monterrey, Mexico, but she hasn’t blown anyone away. She is 73 years old^rd in the WTA rankings, but lost in the first round in Cincinnati and in Montreal last month, and lost in the second round at the Olympics. She lost in the first round on her first major visit at Wimbledon in July. She was a child with a lot of promise, but she didn’t expect to realize it so quickly. Like, say, now.

Fernandez, apparently, thinks otherwise. She was asked after the Osaka win when she thought she could land a win against one of the biggest stars in the women’s game, and she coldly replied that she thought she could. win from the start. After her win over Kerber, she was asked what surprised her about her massive killing streak, to which she replied that it wasn’t much and that this is what she wanted to do when she decided to return. become an expert.

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“I hope that one day my tennis match will happen and I will be able to stand on the big stage in front of a crowd to play against the big players and also win,” said Fernandez, born in California. Montreal said. His father is Ecuadorian and his mother is Filipino-Canadian.

“I’m not surprised by anything that’s happening right now. I’m glad it’s happening now and not later in the year, but we’re going to enjoy this time and enjoy this one day at a time. “

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Some part of that attitude must be due in part to Andreescu’s efforts ahead of her, and her countrymen south of the draw. Denis Shapovalov reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and Felix Auger-Aliassime had his own shot in four US Open finals with a late-night match on Tuesday in New York. Before them, Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard made the idea of ​​a Canadian deep at a Slam seem less crazy.

Fernandez’s laid-back confidence was on full display against Svitolina. Although the Ukrainian is a veteran with loads of Grand Slam experience, it was the young Canadian who started the match in control. Svitolina was confused by her opponent’s left-handed play, and her loose approach helped Fernandez stay consistent and make some mistakes as she started the opening set.

Svitolina became more aggressive in the second set, controlling more play and scoring a 5-1 lead after a few serving breaks. Fernandez hit back with a break of his own and had a great chance to level the set, but Svitolina saved three break points and then ended the set with an ace.

That set the stage for the third set, and ultimately the victory. There is still much more to come.

sstinson@postmedia.com