Canadian rising star Leylah Fernandez kept her hot streak rolling at the US Open after battling once again to beat the world number five Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in a marathon of two hours and 25 minutes.
The fearless performance continues what has been a dream run for the youngster who had never progressed beyond the third round of a Grand Slam tournament until now. Svitolina is the third seeded player she has defeated in a row after Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber. In her latest match, Fernandez produced a total of 41 winners.
“Today’s match was definitely one of the hardest, not only tennis-wise but also mentally and emotionally,” Fernandez told reporters after her win. “Svitolina is a great player, great fighter.’
“I was glad I was able to fight in the first set. In the second set, she upped her level and I unfortunately made a few mistakes on the key moments. I’m glad I was able to recuperate for the third set.”
The opener stayed on serve until 3-2 when it was the Canadian who earned the first break of serve and that break of serve was enough for her to serve out the set to take a 1-0 set lead
However, Svitolina bounced back in the second set and this time she got the early break to take a 3-1 lead. Tat single breakthrough was enough for her to serve out the second set to force a third and deciding set.
The third set was where things got interesting and probably the best set out of all the three played. The Montreal native was the first to break serve to once again take a 3-1 lead. Then the world number five fighting to stay alive was able to break back to even the set at five-all. In the decisive tiebreaker, it was Fernandez who jumped out to a 4-1 lead and that was enough to seal the match.
” I can’t believe it and I worked so hard and I am so grateful for everything that has happened to me with the good and the bad and I am happy that today I was able to get through the most difficult match today”. She said.
The rising star is now set to break into the world’s top 40 as a result of her run in New York. Now in the limelight, she is embracing the sudden surge of media interest in her with the help of those around her.
“The first few days it was definitely a little bit hard. I’ve been very lucky to have a great team around me. I was very lucky to have doubles the next day to keep me grounded,” she said. “Now I feel like I’m a little bit more used to it. I have a great team around me who helps me keeping my head a little bit level and just think about my next match, not think about all the good things that are happening to me.”
Fernandez is just the third Canadian woman to reach the US Open semifinals and the youngest since Maria Sharapova 16 years ago in 2004.
