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Leylah Fernandez reached the semi-finals of the US Open, a day after turning 19.
The Canadian ingenu continued her breathtaking run throughout the tournament, upsetting No.5 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in front of a lively crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium after – midday squarely in his corner.
Fernandez won the last two points of the tiebreaker to give her another straight-set victory after beating former US Open champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber in her previous two games.
Fernandez, whose father was born in Ecuador and whose mother is Filipino-Canadian, becomes the youngest player to defeat two WTA top five-ranked players since Serena Williams at the 1999 US Open, where the American won. won the first of his 23 career greats. slam titles.
The young Canadian, who becomes the youngest semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows since Maria Sharapova, displayed a fierce hitting the ball, immense athleticism and enormous competitive zeal in her run.
It was another sensational game in a tournament that keeps reaching new heights, and Fernandez said: “Honestly, I have no idea how I’m feeling right now. During the whole game I was so nervous.
“I was trying to do what my coach told me to do. Thanks to the New York crowd, who cheer me on, fight for me and never give up, I was able to get through today.
“Svitolina is a great player, she fought for everything, she runs for everything. I am honored to fight with her. I just told myself to trust my punches, to believe that everything is going to be okay. Even if I lose I have to go and I’m glad I did.
Fernandez became a big crowd favorite and there was a first glimpse of what has already turned into a marquee celebration – part grandstand exhortation, part fist pump – when she beat Svitolina to lead 4- 2 in the first set.
Svitolina, who hadn’t lost a set in four matches, reached the late stages of the Grand Slam on several occasions without ever really threatening to win one.
It has been a great summer for the Ukrainian on and off the pitch, however, with her marriage to teammate Gael Monfils followed by a very valuable Olympic bronze medal.
Monfils cheered from the stands alongside Svitolina’s Britain coach Andrew Bettles as the fifth seed mounted a recovery in the second set, removing errors and taking a 5-1 lead.
Fernandez returned, who had chances of returning to serve at 5-4, but Svitolina smothered the teenager’s fire to tie the game.
The momentum and experience was with Svitolina but Fernandez tore up the script the entire fortnight and, like she did against Kerber, she saved the best for the deciding set.
Fernandez was all over the place and, although Svitolina fought back immediately after being beaten to 3-1, the Canadian struck again and opened up a 5-2 lead.
Svitolina, however, was not finished, showing tremendous mental toughness to level up and force a decisive tie-break.
Nerves were in the spotlight on both, Fernandez opening up a 4-1 lead only to help Svitolina equalize at 4-4.
A drawstring on a passing shot helped Fernandez score a first match point, and Svitolina made a comeback as the teenage tournament continued.
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